SCOTLAND

Olympic Games 2012

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment his Department has made of the economic benefit to (a) West Lothian and (b) Scotland of the London 2012 Olympics.

David Mundell: The Olympic Delivery Authority publishes regular updates on the London 2012 Olympic Games. Their latest figures show that over £33 million worth of direct contracts have been awarded to 30 businesses in Scotland—that does not include the additional downstream benefits of the supply chain. Furthermore, a recent report by Oxford Economics has identified that Scotland will benefit from £185 million through tourism over a 12-year period, with gains in employment from London 2012-related tourism effects.

Departmental Pay

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the lowest hourly rate paid to staff by his Department is; how many members of staff based outside London are paid less than £7.20 per hour; and how many members of staff based in London are paid less than £8.30 per hour.

David Mundell: All staff in the Scotland Office are on secondment from other Government bodies. It reimburses those bodies for the costs involved. The Office does not maintain a record of the hourly pay for staff; such information is the responsibility of the parent bodies.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Pay

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the lowest hourly rate is paid to staff by his Department; how many members of staff based outside London are paid less than £7.20 per hour; and how many members of staff based in London are paid less than £8.30 per hour.

Owen Paterson: The lowest hourly rate paid to staff by my Department is £8.00 per hour. No staff based outside London are paid less than £7.20 per hour. No staff based in London are paid less than £8.30 per hour.

Welfare Reform

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to his oral answer of 4 July 2012, Official Report, column 900, on welfare reform, what his responsibilities are in respect of welfare and benefit provisions in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: Social Security, child support and pensions are the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), in Great Britain, and of the Minister for Social Development in Northern Ireland as these are transferred matters.
	Section 87 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 provides for arrangements to ensure that there are single systems of social security, child support and pensions across the United Kingdom.
	I remain in regular contact with both Ministers in respect of the welfare reform agenda.

WALES

Ministerial Meetings

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what bilateral meetings she has had with the Minister for the Cabinet Office in the last 12 months.

Cheryl Gillan: I meet the Minister for the Cabinet Office on a regular basis.

Official Visits

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) Labour, (b) Conservative, (c) Plaid Cymru and Liberal Democrat hon. Members have visited the Wales Office, Whitehall, since July 2010.

Cheryl Gillan: I have regular meetings with hon. Members from all parties, both in Gwydyr House and in the House of Commons.

Poverty: Ministerial Meetings

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many meetings she has had with ministerial colleagues to discuss poverty in Wales since May 2010.

Cheryl Gillan: Both I and the Under-Secretary of State have regular meetings with ministerial colleagues about a range of matters relevant to Wales.
	In March, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), published “Social Justice: Transforming Lives”. Together with the Social Mobility and Child Poverty strategies, it sets out an ambitious approach, aspiring to deliver lasting life change which goes much wider than increases in family income. The strategy is available at the following link:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/social-justice/
	The Welsh Government are responsible for many of the policies involved in tackling poverty. We will work closely with the Welsh Government in delivering our ambitions.

Poverty: Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Pontypridd of 3 July 2012, Official Report, column 532W on poverty: children, what the number of children living in poverty in Wales was in each quarter of the last four years; and what estimate she has made of the likely number in each of the next three years.

Cheryl Gillan: The Welsh Government are responsible for many of the policies involved in tackling poverty, including child poverty.
	Information on levels of child poverty in the United Kingdom and Wales, dating back to the three year period 1994-97 and up to the period 2008-09 to 2010-11, is included in the statistics on Households Below Average Income (HBAI). The latest HBAI publication was released by the Department for Work and Pensions on 14 June 2012 and is available at the following link:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/hbai/hbai2011/index.php?page=contents
	Disaggregation by geographical regions is presented as three-year averages as single-year regional estimates are considered too volatile. Information for Wales in each quarter of the last four years is therefore not available.
	The level of poverty is dependent on a number of factors which cannot be reliably predicted. While income is important, considering this measure in isolation fails to properly reflect the real experience of poverty. The Government are therefore developing more effective measurements of child poverty which will provide a more accurate picture in Wales and the UK. We will be launching a consultation seeking views on how to do this in the autumn.

Third Sector

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Pontypridd of 3 July 2012, Official Report, column 533W on third sector, how much the big society seminar held by her Department in Cardiff in 2011 cost; and what the main outcomes were.

David Jones: The cost of the big society seminar—£518.40—was published as part of our transparency measures and is available on our website.
	The seminar was very successful, engaging the grassroots of civil society in Wales with the big society vision. From the discussions held during the event we identified several outcomes for further exploration; such as the huge potential of the National Citizen Service in Wales; the need to grow the social investment market; and the need to work in partnership with the Welsh Government.
	Since the seminar we have secured funding for a pilot of the National Citizen Service in Wales; we have set up the big society advisory forum; and we are in the final stages of planning an event around social investment to be held in September. We will continue to encourage the Welsh Government to become involved in these important initiatives.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Cybercrime

Helen Goodman: To ask the Attorney-General what recent discussions he has had with the Director of Public Prosecutions on the prosecution of crimes committed online.

Edward Garnier: None recently, but I am aware that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) robustly prosecutes crimes committed using computers or other devices (including mobile phones) and last year they trained a number of prosecutors specifically on prosecuting cybercrime. The CPS has also developed further general training in this area which will be available to all its prosecutors later this year.

Sentencing

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Attorney-General 
	(1)  how many requests he received from the Crown Prosecution Service relating to unduly lenient sentences in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many unduly lenient sentences he referred to the Court of Appeal in each of the last 10 years; what the offence was in each case; and how many times the Court of Appeal found a sentence to be unduly lenient in each year;
	(3)  how many requests he received from victims' families relating to unduly lenient sentences in each of the last 10 years.

Edward Garnier: Statistics on sentences referred to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient are published annually on the Attorney-General's Office website at:
	http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk/ULS/Pages/default.aspx
	The figures show that the Attorney-General and I have referred 117 individual sentences from the year 2011. The Court of Appeal found 97 of these sentences to be unduly lenient. The figures for the preceding years are as follows:
	
		
			  Referred sentences considered by Court of Appeal Sentences found by the Court of Appeal to be Unduly Lenient 
			 2010 77 65 
			 2009 108 77 
			 2008 71 57 
			 2007 106 86 
			 2006 144 113 
			 2005 108 82 
			 2004 137 108 
			 2003 96 88 
			 2002 139 120 
		
	
	These figures do not include those sentences in respect of which a notice of application was lodged with the Court of Appeal and subsequently withdrawn prior to the sentence being considered by the Court of Appeal.
	Information published on the website also shows the offences associated with each Reference to the Court of Appeal for years 2008 to 2011 inclusive, however reliable data for the earlier years could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as it would have to be extracted from individual files.
	Data held by the Attorney-General's Office, but which has not been assured, indicate that in 2011 the Attorney-General and I received requests from the Crown Prosecution Service to consider referring 225 individual sentences to the Court of Appeal as potentially unduly lenient sentences. Equivalent figures for the preceding years are:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2010 200 
			 2009 223 
			 2008 190 
			 2007 271 
			 2006 247 
			 2005 308 
			 2004 194 
			 2003 238 
			 2002 252 
		
	
	The Attorney-General's Office does not hold the equivalent data for requests received from victims or their families. To provide such information would incur a disproportionate cost as it would have to be extracted from individual files.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Democratic Republic of Congo

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions HM Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo has had with the Government of that country on the conduct of the elections held in December 2011.

Henry Bellingham: Since the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)'s presidential and parliamentary elections in November last year, the British ambassador in Kinshasa has made it clear to the DRC Government on several occasions that we support the recommendations of the EU election observation mission report, which include restructuring the electoral commission CENI, establishing a constitutional court to address electoral disputes, and auditing and revising the electoral register.

Israel

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs on his proposal to exclude goods made in Israeli settlements from EU markets.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has not held any discussions with the Irish Foreign Minister on settlement goods.
	However, settlement produce is the subject of discussion within the EU. EU Foreign Ministers, at their meeting on 14 May, agreed that:
	“the EU and its Member States reaffirm their commitment to fully and effectively implement existing EU legislation and the bilateral arrangements applicable to settlement products. The Council underlines the importance of the work being carried out together with the Commission in this regard”.
	This ongoing work includes measures to ensure that settlement produce does not enter the EU duty-free.

Israel

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the European Commission on exclusion of participants based in or operating from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories from regulations for Horizon 2020.

Alistair Burt: We have not held any discussion with the European Commission on exclusion of participants from regulations for Horizon 2020.
	We enjoy a close and productive relationship with Israel. It is this very relationship that allows us to have the frank discussions often necessary between friends. We believe that imposing sanctions on Israel or supporting anti-Israeli boycotts would lessen this influence, not increase it, and would do nothing to promote the peace process.

Israel: Palestinians

Nadhim Zahawi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Palestinian Authority on the importance of direct peace talks.

Alistair Burt: We and our EU partners have welcomed the recent efforts by the Palestinian and Israeli leadership to renew direct contacts. We have urged both sides to focus on dialogue, to avoid steps that could undermine the prospects for peace and to work towards the resumption of direct negotiations. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), conveyed this message when he met President Abbas on 6 July.

Israel: Palestinians

Michael Ellis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the number of (a) Qassam rockets, (b) Grad rockets and (c) mortar bombs launched into Israeli territory from Gaza (i) since 1 January 2012 and (ii) in June 2012; and what reports he has received of the number of persons (A) killed, (B) seriously injured and (C) slightly injured in such attacks.

Alistair Burt: We remain concerned about continued indiscriminate rocket attacks by Palestinian militant groups on Israel, as well as air-strikes and other attacks by the Israeli military on Gaza.
	The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) produce a detailed breakdown of Israeli-Palestinian conflict related casualties every month for the UN OCHA humanitarian monitor report, these can be found at:
	http://www.ochaopt.org
	The Israeli Defence Forces report that over 400 rockets have been fired from Gaza so far this year. During the recent outbreak of violence in June over 100 rockets were fired into southern Israel, with 10 Israeli civilians injured.

Middle East

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what delegation the UK plans to send to the Helsinki conference on the Non-Proliferation Treaty Conference on a nuclear-weapons free Middle East in December 2012.

Alistair Burt: The UK delegation to the conference on achieving a Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone will be determined once further details have been announced by the conference facilitator. These include the date and other practical arrangements. As co-convener of the conference, the UK is committed to its delivery. We fully support the work of the facilitator Mr Jaako Laajava to bring all parties of the region together to discuss this issue.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Atos

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2012, Official Report, column 567W, on Atos, what the total monetary value was of each contract between his Department and Atos in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012.

John Penrose: A breakdown of spend in relation to the information and communication technology service contract and the Mobile Infrastructure project, which started this year, is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Information and communication technology Mobile Infrastructure project 
			 2009 2,801,923 0 
			 2010 3,232,498 0 
			 2011 2,856,981 0 
			 2012 1,973,434 164,639 
			 Total 10,864,836 164,639

Broadband

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many local authorities have submitted their local broadband plans; and how many of those submitted have been approved.

Edward Vaizey: I can confirm that 44 out of 45 local broadband plans have been approved by the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt). The local authorities for the outstanding plan, covering Sandwell and Birmingham, are working to submit their plan for approval in July 2012.

Mobile Phones

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what progress has been made by Ofcom on the terms of reference for the Spectrum Auction; and when such an auction will be held.

Edward Vaizey: Ofcom are currently considering the responses received as a result of their recent consultation on the auction of spectrum suitable for 4G services, which closed on 22 March, and are expected to make a statement in the summer. Ofcom remain on schedule for the UK auction process to start by the end of 2012. This is compatible with the spectrum becoming available to allow successful bidders to start rolling out 4G services in these bands in 2013.

Departmental Pay

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the lowest hourly rate is paid to staff by his Department; how many members of staff based outside London are paid less than £7.20 per hour; and how many members of staff based in London are paid less than £8.30 per hour.

John Penrose: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) does not pay its employees at an hourly rate. DCMS's lowest annual salary rate is £19,836 per annum, which equates to more than £8.30 per hour. All DCMS employees are based in London, except for eight individuals based in the regions, working in connection with the Olympic Games. All of these individuals earn over £7.20 per hour.

RTE

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the proposed closure of the London bureau of Raidió Teilifís Éireann.

Edward Vaizey: No assessment has been made.

RTE

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent meetings he has had with his Irish counterpart on the London bureau of Raidió Teilifís Éireann.

Edward Vaizey: Neither myself nor the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), have had any meetings with Irish counterparts to discuss this matter.

Subtitling

Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to review the provision of subtitling on all broadcast platforms, including catch-up and on-demand services.

Edward Vaizey: The Government understand that television subtitles on all broadcasting formats are vital if profoundly deaf and hard of hearing people are to have access to television and online TV services. It is for this reason that the Government are committed to maintaining access to broadcasting services for people with sensory impairments and to help ensure that the subtitling offered is of a consistently high standard.
	In May of this year, I hosted an event, together with Intellect and the Royal National Institute for the Blind to celebrate the successes made by the UK TV industry over the last 10 years. During this event, the provision of subtitles on all broadcast platforms, including catch-up and on demand services was discussed. The event also looked at the challenges facing the industry, with the advent of Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) or connected televisions regarding subtitles of programmes delivered through online channels, video on demand and catch -up TV channels.
	As part of the Communications Review process the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published a paper on the ‘Consumer Perspective’ which, among other things, asks questions about accessibility issues. This will be discussed at the next meeting of the DCMS eAccessibility Forum, and comments on this and other papers can be submitted before 14 September, via the Communications Review website:
	http://dcmscommsreview.readandcomment.com/

Tourism

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the budget allocated to VisitBritain for attracting tourist visitors from Japan was in each year since 1997.

John Penrose: The following table shows VisitBritain total spend on attracting tourist visitors from Japan. Figures include marketing costs and direct infrastructure costs of running the VisitBritain Japan office.
	
		
			  Net expenditure (£) 
			 2004-05 910,903 
			 2005-06 897,836 
			 2006-07 757,244 
			 2007-08 884,659 
			 2008-09 883,255 
			 2009-10 721,855 
			 2010-11 693,522 
			 2011-12 (1)1,304,369 
			 (1) 2011-12 expenditure includes spend allocated to Japan for the GREAT campaign, Partnerships, Press PR UK, and B2B UK. Note: VisitBritain was established in 2003; data before 2004-05 are not available.

Tourism

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the expenditure in the retail sector attributable to visitors from Japan in the latest period for which figures are available.

John Penrose: Neither the Department nor VisitBritain has made an estimate of expenditure in the retail sector attributable to Japanese tourists.

Work Experience

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of interns working in the media sector.

Edward Vaizey: No estimate has been made.
	The graduate internship market is hugely diverse and we welcome the numerous quality opportunities which both public and private employers provide.

TREASURY

Business: Barnsley

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many reports his Department received from small businesses in Barnsley Central constituency required to pay breakage fees from swap protection contracts in each of the last three years.

Mark Hoban: Treasury Ministers and officials meet and receive representations from, a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the usual policymaking process. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.

EU Grants and Loans

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was allocated to Wales in addition to the block grant under the EU share of Wales Objective 1 and Convergence funding needs in each year since 2000.

Danny Alexander: European Structural Funds expenditure, including Objective 1 and Convergence funding, scores within departmental expenditure limits but is offset by Structural Fund receipts which score as negative DEL The devolved Administrations plan for expected Structural Funds expenditure and receipts within their DEL which usually nets to zero within the block grant.

Financial Services Authority

Michael Connarty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the process to replace the Financial Services Authority with successor bodies to be completed.

Mark Hoban: The Government's intention is for the new regulatory authorities to be in place in early 2013. This is dependent on the Bill receiving Royal Assent at the end of 2012, which will be subject to the parliamentary timetable.

Financial Services Authority

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will carry out an investigation into the cost-effectiveness of the Financial Services Authority.

Mark Hoban: The Government have no plans to carry out an investigation into the cost-effectiveness of the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA's successor bodies, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will be subject to full audit by the National Audit Office, including value for money studies. In addition the Treasury will have the power to order an independent inquiry into the regulators' economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

Financial Services: Advisory Services

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the implications of the Retail Distribution Review for the level of independent financial advice available to the public.

Mark Hoban: The Retail Distribution Review (RDR) is the responsibility of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), an independent body. This question has been passed on to the FSA, which will reply to you directly by letter. A copy of the response will be placed in the Library of the House.

Money Advice Service

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will commission an independent study into the cost-effectiveness of the Money Advice Service's allocation of marketing and brand awareness.

Mark Hoban: The Money Advice Service (MAS) is an independent body, funded by a levy on the financial services industry. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is responsible for approving its business plan and budget. MAS published its business plan and budget for 2012-13 in March 2012. Lord Turner, Chairman of the FSA, has made it clear that the FSA intend to commission an independent review into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of MAS's use of public resources in the first half of next year.
	MAS makes an annual report to the FSA in relation to the discharge of its consumer financial education function, including setting out the extent to which the body has met its objectives and priorities for the period covered by the report. The annual report for 2010-11 is available on MAS's website. The service will publish its 2011-12 accounts in July and will report on its marketing spend for 2011-12 in its annual review to be published in August.

Public Sector Pay

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) highest, (b) median, (c) median full-time equivalent and (d) lowest full-time equivalent salary was paid by (i) his Department and (ii) its associated public bodies in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13.

Chloe Smith: The figures requested are available as follows:
	
		
			  2010-11 2011-12 
			 Median(1) 36,875 36,736 
			 Mean 42,723 42,749 
			 Minimum 15,500 16,063 
			 Maximum 195,063 195,063 
			 (1) The median figures will be published this month in the 2012 Departmental Annual Report and Accounts and are for HM Treasury and its agencies. Figures for 2012-13 are not yet available.

Departmental Pay

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the lowest hourly rate is paid to staff by his Department; how many members of staff based outside London are paid less than £7.20 per hour; and how many members of staff based in London are paid less than £8.30 per hour.

Chloe Smith: The lowest rate paid to staff in HM Treasury is £8.81 per hour.

Regional Pay

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential effect of regional public sector pay on social mobility.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 10 July 2012
	The independent Pay Review Bodies are currently considering the case for greater local pay flexibility in the wider public sector and will report from July onwards. UK civil service Departments are also considering their approach.
	Nothing has yet been decided and the effect on social mobility can only be assessed once formal proposals have been made.

Quantitative Easing

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  on how many occasions he has received notice from the Bank of England that it would support quantitative easing in the latest period for which figures are available; what the value was of the proposed quantative easing on each such occasion; and on how many occasions he supported such an easing;
	(2)  if he will make it policy that his Department controls the money that is released through quantitative easing;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the implications for the economy of his Department not controlling the process of quantitative easing.

Mark Hoban: Quantitative easing (QE), or asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, is implemented via the Asset Purchase Facility (APF), a subsidiary company of the Bank of England established in January 2009. QE was authorised in March 2009 by the then Chancellor in a published exchange of letters with the Governor of the Bank of England.
	Decisions on the scale and speed of QE are those of the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) which has operational responsibility for monetary policy as set out in the Bank of England Act 1998. QE is an additional policy tool to Bank Rate in order to enable the MPC to meet the inflation target in the medium term.
	Given that HM Treasury indemnifies the Bank for any losses it makes arising out of the use of the APF, the Chancellor authorises, at the MPC's request, changes in the maximum amount of assets that can be purchased.
	The MPC voted for an increase in asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at the following times, which the then Chancellor authorised in published exchanges of letters with the Governor: March 2009 by £75 billion; May 2009 to a total of £125 billion; August 2009 to a total of £175 billion; and November 2009 to a total of £200 billion.
	The Chancellor had made clear that he would follow the arrangements put in place in 2009 for authorising further asset purchases. The MPC has requested, and the Chancellor has authorised, an increase in the ceiling of asset purchases financed by the issuance in central bank reserves in October 2011 to a total of £250 billion; in February 2012 to a total of £325 billion; and in July 2012 to a total of £375 billion.
	As the Chancellor's letters have made clear, monetary policy continues to have a critical role in supporting the economy as the Government delivers on its commitment to fiscal consolidation and it remains the primary tool for responding to changes in the economic outlook.

Tax Evasion

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was lost to the Exchequer as a result of tax evasion in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: HMRC has only produced an illustrative breakdown of the tax gap by behaviour for 2007-08 and 2009-10.
	The most recent tax gap estimates were published in September 2011 in ‘Measuring Tax Gaps 2011’, which can be found at the following link:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/measuring-tax-gaps.htm
	In ‘Measuring Tax Gaps 2011’ HMRC estimated that evasion accounted for around £4 billion (12%) of the 2009-10 total tax gap.
	The HMRC publication ‘Protecting Tax Revenues 2009’:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100330144254/http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pbr2009/protect-tax-revenue-5450.pdf
	estimated that evasion accounted for around £7 billion (17.5%) of the 2007-08 total tax gap.
	HMRC will publish the 2010-11 illustrative breakdown of the tax gap by behaviour in ‘Measuring Tax Gaps 2012’ in October 2012.

Tonnage Tax

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the UK's (a) imports and (b) exports were undertaken by vessels in the tonnage tax in each year since 2000-01. [R]

Chloe Smith: HMRC does not hold the information on imports and exports undertaken by vessels in the tonnage tax regime as requested.

Tonnage Tax

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect on the level of revenue accruing to the Exchequer of the introduction of the tonnage tax scheme in 2000-01. [R]

Chloe Smith: Tonnage tax was introduced in 2000. The size of the UK fleet has increased significantly since then.
	Estimates of the tax liabilities due to tonnage tax for each year from 2000 to 2009 are available at the following link:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/text/111215w0001.htm#11121582000209

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Prices

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what comparative assessment she has made of the use in countries other than Scotland of minimum pricing for alcohol as a means of reducing consumption or tackling problem drinking;
	(2)  what representations she has received from organisations working with problem drinkers or alcoholics on minimum alcohol pricing;
	(3)  what estimate she has made of the likely change in the level of revenue to the Exchequer which would result from minimum alcohol pricing;
	(4)  what assessment she has made of the potential effect of minimum alcohol pricing on the cider industry;
	(5)  what representations she has received from cider makers and apple growers on the potential effects of minimum alcohol pricing on their income;
	(6)  what assessment she has made of the potential effect of minimum alcohol pricing on farm sales of cider;
	(7)  what assessment she has made of the likely effect on revenues for major retailers of the introduction of minimum alcohol pricing;
	(8)  what estimate she has made of the proportion of alcohol sales which would increase in price if a minimum alcohol unit price of 40 pence was implemented;
	(9)  what assessment she has made of the change in the level of alcohol consumption in each income group since 2004;
	(10)  what assessment she has made of the level of hazardous and binge drinking in each income group;
	(11)  what assessment she has made of the effect of a minimum alcohol price of 40 pence per unit on each income group.

James Brokenshire: In the forthcoming months the Government will produce an Impact Assessment that will consider the impact of minimum unit pricing on a number of key groups; including the impact on the alcohol industry as a whole, impact on the Exchequer, income groups and consumer groups. The Assessment will refer to the most recent available evidence and analysis relating to reducing consumption and tackling harmful drinking. These impacts will be measured against a range of minimum price levels.
	The Government will launch a consultation in the forthcoming months on key proposals in the Alcohol Strategy, including the level to be set for a minimum unit price. We will consider representations as part of that consultation.

Alcoholic Drinks: Scotland

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to her Department's consultation on minimum alcohol pricing, what information her Department has gathered on the (a) proportion of alcohol sales and (b) types of drink which have increased in price in Scotland as a result of minimum alcohol pricing.

James Brokenshire: The Scottish Government have not yet brought their minimum unit pricing legislation into force. To accompany the forthcoming consultation, the UK Government will produce an impact assessment that will consider the impact of minimum unit pricing in England and Wales. The assessment will refer to the most recent available evidence and analysis relating to alcohol sales and the impact on different types of alcoholic drinks.

Assets

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assets her Department has sold and leased back over the last 12 months; what the sale price was of each asset so sold; and what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of leasing back each such asset over the period of the lease.

Damian Green: The Home Office has not sold and leased back any assets over the last 12 months.

Asylum

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she estimates that all cases referred to the Case Assurance and Audit Unit will be cleared.

Damian Green: holding answer 9 July 2012
	As the chief executive of the UK Border Agency reported to the Home Affairs Committee on 15 May, we intend to close the controlled archive by December 2012.
	Due to the nature of individual live cases, we cannot give a date for when all of these will be cleared. Cases will be worked to the furthest possible point and if barriers remain to final conclusion, a grant of leave or removal, then the cases will continue to be actively monitored until full conclusion is possible.

Child Protection

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 17 May 2011, Official Report, column 156W, to the hon. Member for Bolton South East, on children: protection and the answer of 19 April 2012, Official Report, column 457W, on children: EU action and pursuant to the answer of 4 July 2012, Official Report, column 653W, to the hon. Member for Slough, on children: EU action, when her Department plans to report on the steps that would be required to ratify and implement the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse.

Lynne Featherstone: As the hon. Member is aware, discussions are taking place across Government to establish a clear picture of current levels of existing compliance. Subject to the successful progression of these discussions, we aim to reach a decision on the steps needed to ratify and implement the convention before the conclusion of this Parliament.

Deportation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on deportations in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency annual accounts for 2010-11 can be viewed at:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/annual-reports-accounts/
	A copy has also been placed in the House Library.
	These accounts include the costs of Public Expense Removals, and also of the various voluntary removal schemes which the Agency operates. The gross costs to the Agency of removals shown in the Agency's accounting records between 2006 and 2011 are detailed in Table 1; these figures include the total programme costs of the voluntary return schemes including re-integration assistance, flights and running costs. The Agency also receives funding from the EU for its removals programme, and the amounts received and expected from this source are shown in Table 2, which will offset some of the gross costs.
	EU Funds received for 2009-10 and 2010-11 remain subject to audit and possible amendment.
	Annex: Net costs of public expense and voluntary removals schemes
	
		
			 Table 1: Gross removal costs 2005-10 
			 Public Expense Removals (PERs) 
			  £ million 
			 2006-07 20.2 
			 2007-08 22.3 
			 2008-09 27.0 
			 2009-10 27.5 
			 .2010-11 28.4 
		
	
	
		
			 Voluntary Removals Schemes 
			  £ million 
			 2006-07 22.2 
			 2007-08 21.7 
			 2008-09 10.8 
			 2009-10 20.4 
			 .2010-11 17.3 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: EU Funding for Removals 2005-10 
			  £ million 
			 2006-07 3.2 
			 2007-08 3.2 
			 2008-09 6.3 
			 2009-10 4.1 
			 2010-11 2.7 
			 Note: EU funding for 2009-10 and 2010-11- is subject to EU audit and possible amendment.

Drugs: Crime

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate her Department has made of the number of acquisitive crimes committed that are related to the consumption of illegal drugs.

James Brokenshire: The most recent Home Office estimate of the proportion of acquisitive crime which was related to the use of class A drugs was published in 2005. This estimated that between one third and a half of acquisitive crime was related to use of class A drugs.
	Reference:
	Macdonald, Z. et al (2005) ‘Measuring the harm from illegal drugs using the Drug Harm Index’ Home Office Online Report 24/05
	http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/rdsolr2405.pdf

Extradition: EU Action

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what extent the UK participates in EU decision number SCH/Com-ex (96) decl 6 rev 2 on extradition; and what assessment she has made of the effects for the UK of that decision.

Damian Green: holding answer 9 July 2012
	The Council Framework Decision of 13 June 2002 on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between member states, by virtue of Article 31(e), replaces the extradition provisions (Title 3, Chapter 4) of the Schengen Acquis. The Acquis is the legal basis for this declaration so it is considered that this declaration has been superseded by the EAW FD—which is given effect by parts 1 and 3 of the Extradition Act 2003.

Heathrow Airport: Immigration Controls

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average waiting time was on 29 June 2012 at Terminal 4 Heathrow Airport for passengers holding (a) EU and (b) non-EU passports arriving into the UK.

Damian Green: holding answer 6 July 2012
	On 29 June at Heathrow Terminal 4, the average waiting time was four minutes for EEA passengers and 32 minutes for non-EEA passengers. This is management information which is provisional and therefore subject to change.

Immigration Controls

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on her border control policy; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, routinely receives representations relating to border control policy and regularly meets officials to discuss policy. Information relating to the type of representations is not held centrally and cannot be obtained without incurring a disproportionate cost.

Licensing Laws

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the use by police of powers to take action against licensees whose premises serve people who are (a) underage and (b) already intoxicated.

James Brokenshire: In 2010, the Government carried out an extensive public consultation on the Licensing Act 2003, which includes a range of criminal offences. Following this, the Government legislated via the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 to increase the penalties and powers available to the police and local authorities in dealing with the criminal offence of persistently selling alcohol to children. The measures included doubling the maximum fine to £20,000 for persistent under-age sales. In the Alcohol Strategy, published in March this year, the Government announced further work with the police on the offence of knowingly selling alcohol to a person who is drunk.

Licensing Laws

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the use by local authorities of powers against problem drinking and licensed premises that are the source of drunken disorder.

James Brokenshire: In 2010, the Government carried out an extensive public consultation on alcohol licensing. Following this analysis, the Government legislated via the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 to rebalance the Licensing Act 2003 in favour of local communities. The Act includes new powers for local authorities and the police to tackle problem premises and alcohol-related disorder. The Government have also set out further steps to tackle problem drinking in the Alcohol Strategy, published in March 2012, and will consult publicly on key new measures shortly.

Missing Persons

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to encourage police, health, local government and other agencies to co-operate and share information on missing person cases.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government published their Missing Children and Adults strategy in December last year which set out clearly the roles and responsibilities of all agencies in tackling missing persons cases. In particular the strategy outlines the importance of information sharing between all agencies and provides examples of good practice in local information sharing including the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub model.
	The strategy invites all local areas to review the arrangements they have in place to ensure they are delivering the best service they can to missing people and, following publication of the strategy, the Home Office is working with local, national and voluntary sector partners to encourage implementation including through the better sharing of information in missing children and adults cases.

Missing Persons

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assistance her Department provides to (a) the Missing Person Unit, (b) the Salvation Army and (c) other groups for work helping families who have missing relatives.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government's Missing Children and Adults strategy recognises the key role of the voluntary sector in providing support to missing children, adults and their families. Delivery of this support is one of the strategy's three key objectives and in addition to the close working between the Home Office and organisations such as the Children's Society and Parents and Abducted Children Together, the Home Office has also provided grant funding directly to the charity Missing People to support the delivery of their 24-hour help line support service (116 000) which missing children, adults and their families can call or text to get access to advice and support.

Missing Persons

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the number of (a) children under 18 and (b) adults who went missing in the UK last year.

Lynne Featherstone: Missing persons figures are supplied by police forces and collated by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). SOCA records these data on missing persons by financial year.
	In the year 2010-11, 327,000 incidents of missing persons were recorded. Individuals may be reported missing more than once, however not all police forces supply this information on repeat missing persons. Therefore, based on the percentage of cases known to relate to repeat missing persons, SOCA estimates that these incidents related to approximately 216,000 individuals.
	Not all police forces provide the age of missing persons. Based on data that are collected from police forces SOCA estimates that two-thirds (66%) of missing persons incidents relate to children under the age of 18.
	The data for 2011-12 have not been published to date.

Missing Persons

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to support the families of missing persons.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government published their Missing Children and Adults strategy in December last year which set out clearly the roles and responsibilities of all agencies in tackling missing persons cases.
	In particular, one of its main objectives is to provide missing people and their families with support and guidance, ensuring they are referred promptly to support services by the police and that families understand how and where to access help and support. The Government are providing direct grant funding support to the charity Missing People to help deliver their 24-hour help line support service (116 000) which missing children, adults and their families can call or text to get access to advice and support.

Schengen Agreement

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the amendment to Article 40 of the Schengen Agreement implemented by Article 1(i) of EU Council Decision 2003/725/JHA, on how many occasions the UK has conducted cross-border surveillance in another EU member state since 2003; and on how many occasions another EU member state has been authorised to carry out such surveillance in the UK.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 9 July 2012
	The Serious Organised Crime Agency has collected data on requests for authority to continue surveillance into foreign jurisdictions under article 40 of the Schengen convention since 2008. In that time the UK has made 154 such requests and received five requests from other member states.
	The figures do not represent the number of occasions that UK law enforcement actually conducted surveillance on foreign soil because such requests for continued surveillance are often facilitated by the receiving country, eliminating the need for UK law enforcement to travel. Of the five requests the UK has received from other member states, all were conducted by UK authorities rather than the requesting member state.

Sexual Offences: Regulations

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when her Department plans to bring into force the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (Notification Requirements) (England and Wales) Regulations 2012.

James Brokenshire: We expect the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (Notification Requirements) (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 to come into force in summer 2012.

Terrorism: EU Action

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions the Government have (a) issued and (b) received requests for judicial assistance and enforcement of judgements under Article 4 of EU Council Decision 2005/671/JHA in each year since 2006; and how many of such requests have been granted.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 28 June 2012
	We attach high importance to the exchange of information and co-operation in relation to terrorism offences however we do not record the name of the legal instrument under which such requests are issued and received.

TRANSPORT

Blue Badge Scheme

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the number of blue badge holders who will (a) cease to be automatically eligible for a blue badge and (b) cease to be eligible for assessment for a blue badge, under each of the three options set out in the consultation document. Personal Independence Payment and Eligibility for a Blue Badge.

Norman Baker: Eligibility for Personal Independence Payments is being assessed on a different basis to Disability Living Allowance. None of the options therefore replicates the existing eligibility criteria for a blue badge as this is not possible.
	My Department has indicatively modelled the potential costs and benefits of the three options presented using assumptions sourced from available DfT and DWP data sets. The results of the modelling and the assumptions are presented in the consultation document. However, detailed information on some of the potential impacts is not available. It is not therefore possible to provide precise estimates of the number of existing badge holders who would become ineligible under some options, or those currently ineligible who would become eligible. We have asked in the consultation for disabled people and their representative groups to let us know if they believe they may be affected by particular options.
	If someone is not eligible for Personal Independence Payment, they would still be able to apply for a badge directly to their local authority under the ‘with further assessment’ criteria. If a person's eligibility is in doubt, the local authority will refer them for an independent mobility assessment.
	The Department's preferred option is Option 3 as outlined in the consultation as we would not expect this proposal to significantly affect the overall numbers of people eligible for a badge.

Electric Vehicles

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2012, Official Report, column 841W, on electric vehicles, for what reason her Department moved the commitment to push for the early EU adoption of electric vehicle infrastructure standards from being an action in the main Structural Reform Plan in its May 2011 Business Plan to being an additional departmental action in Annex B of its May 2012 Business Plan; and what progress her Department has made towards securing early EU adoption of electric vehicle infrastructure standards.

Norman Baker: In line with Cabinet Office guidance the main Structural Reform Plan is now more focussed on the actions we will undertake to implement our major structural reforms. In light of which we have in some cases consolidated some individual actions into higher level actions, in order to retain a manageable number of actions in the main document.
	The Office for Low Emissions Vehicles (OLEV) remains an active member of the British Standards Institution (BSI) PEL/069 Committee, which develops and sets UK standards and represents UK interests in EU standards setting bodies. The Government participated, at both ministerial and official level, in CARS21 (Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st Century), a recent Commission-led process which made recommendations for the policy and regulatory framework for the European automotive industry, including on the standardisation of recharging infrastructure. The CARS21 final report can be found at:
	http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/automotive/files/cars-21-final-report-2012_en.pdf
	The EC intends to adopt a Communication on the recommendations from the CARS21 process, to which both my Department and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will be responding.

Lost Working Days

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average number of working days lost per person was in (a) her Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last three years.

Norman Baker: The Central Department and its seven executive Agencies recorded the following in respect of average working days lost due to sickness during the financial years 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12:
	
		
			 Average Working Days Lost 2009/2010 2010/2011 2011/2012 
			 DFT C 5.20 4.30 4.50 
			 DSA 12.20 11.10 10.60 
			 DVLA 7.80 7.10 7.50 
			 GCDA 8.20 8.40 8.50 
			 HA 7.30 8.50 9.60 
			 MCA 7.00 5.70 5.20 
			 VCA 4.90 4.30 5.00 
			 VOSA 9.60 8.50 7.70 
			 Average Working Days lost for DftC and the Agencies over all 8.20 7.70 7.90

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason her Department moved the commitment to play an active role in the European Commission's review of the long-term targets in new car carbon dioxide reduction regulations from being an action in the main Structural Reform Plan in its May 2011 Business Plan to being an Additional departmental action in Annex B of its May 2012 Business Plan; and what progress her Department has made in playing an active role in the European Commission's review of the long-term targets in new car CO2 regulations.

Norman Baker: In line with Cabinet Office guidance the main Structural Reform Plan is now more focussed on the actions we will undertake to implement our major structural reforms. The Department remains fully committed to reducing CO2 and chose in the 2012 Business Plan to expand on the previous action by setting a new action, 4.6ii to “develop and promote a UK position on the European Commission's review of long-term targets in new car and van CO2 and the Commission's developing strategy for reducing HGV CO2 emissions” by June 2013. The previous action was therefore moved to an annex in line with guidance.
	The Department for Transport leads for the UK in negotiating new car CO2 regulations through the EU, which remains one of the main policy levers for delivering improvements in new car efficiency. We have an active and constructive ongoing engagement with the European Commission and key industry stakeholders and are fully engaged in this review at ministerial and official levels.

Departmental Pay

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the lowest hourly rate is paid to staff by her Department; how many members of staff based outside London are paid less than £7.20 per hour; and how many members of staff based in London are paid less than £8.30 per hour.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport consists of a central Department and 7 Executive Agencies - Highways Agency, Driver Standards Agency, Driver Vehicle & Licensing Agency, Maritime & Coastguard Agency, Vehicle & Operator Services Agency, Vehicle Certification Agency and Government Cars and Despatch Agency.
	In the Department for Transport the lowest hourly rate paid to staff is £6.16; 47 employees based outside of London are paid less than £7.20 per hour and no employees based in London are paid less than £8.30 per hour.

Railways: Safety

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 26 June 2012, Official Report, column 253W, on railway safety, what role her Department has in setting minimum railway safety standards other than sending officials as observers to Rail Safety and Standards Board committee meetings.

Theresa Villiers: The practice of sending officials as observers to the Rail Safety and Standards Board committee meetings continues the approach used by the previous administration. In addition, as well as working with stakeholders to ensure that the United Kingdom continues to have one of the safest railways in the world, the Department has provided input to the European Union's harmonised Common Safety Targets (‘CSTs’). These represent the minimum safety levels and safety performance which must be reached by member states.

Roads: Safety

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many local authorities in England operate road safety education activities in schools.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport does not collect information about how many local authorities operate road safety education activities in schools in England. Local authorities have statutory duties related to road safety but the decisions about whether they operate road safety education activities in schools in England are for local authorities.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date she expects all the rolling stock and infrastructure for Thameslink services to have been delivered; and for what reason the May 2012 update to her Department's Business Plan removed the reference to this being completed by the end of 2018.

Theresa Villiers: The Department's objective is for all the rolling stock and infrastructure for Thameslink services to be delivered by December 2018.

Ryanair

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will discuss with Ryanair its treatment of passengers with disabilities.

Theresa Villiers: Ryanair, like all European airlines, is bound by EC Regulation 1107/2006 which confers right of access for disabled passengers when travelling by air.
	Treatment of people with a disability by Ryanair is the responsibility for the Irish Civil Aviation Authority as Ryanair is an Irish registered airline.

Transport: Infrastructure

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the (a) road and (b) rail infrastructure projects announced in the 2010 autumn statement were placed on hold between May 2010 and autumn 2011.

Theresa Villiers: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) The document ‘Investment in Highways Transport Schemes’, published alongside the 2010 autumn statement, set out the major roads schemes that will continue to be worked on and those that have been cancelled.
	(b) No rail projects were put on hold during the period in question, other than the Intercity Express Programme. The latter programme was only put on hold for the purposes of the Foster review commissioned by the previous Government in February 2010. The then Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), reported the outcome of this review in his statement to the House in March 2011, Official Report, columns 185-87.

HEALTH

Antidepressants

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 June 2012, Official Report, column 222W, on antidepressants, what scientific and medical advice he considered on the safety for patients of withdrawing from Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants over several weeks; and which specialists in SSRI withdrawal were recommended by the MHRA in its SSRI learning module.

Simon Burns: Ongoing concerns about the safety of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in early 2003 prompted a review by an Expert Working Group of the Committee on Safety of Medicines (the predecessor to the Commission on Human Medicines) into suicidal behaviour and withdrawal reactions associated with the SSRIs. This review examined all available evidence including data from clinical trials, published literature, post-marketing studies, reports of patients' experiences and feedback from meetings with patient support groups. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published key findings and updated advice to healthcare professionals and patients as the review progressed.
	The key findings of the Expert Group were widely communicated to healthcare professionals and the public in December 2004, at the same time as publication of National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence clinical guidelines on the treatment of depression and anxiety. One of the key findings with respect to the risk of withdrawal reactions was that evidence showed that withdrawal reactions are less severe when the dose is tapered gradually over a period of several weeks according to the patient's needs. The evidence base for the key findings is detailed in the group's comprehensive report, “Report of the CSM Expert Working Group on the Safety of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Antidepressants”. A copy has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the MHRA website at:
	www.mhra.gov.uk
	Since completion of the review by the Expert Working Group, every effort has been made to issue updated advice as appropriate and communications have been issued to healthcare professionals via the letters to healthcare professionals, the MHRA website and also Drug Safety Update.
	This has included the SSRI Learning module available on the MHRA website, which informs health professionals about actions to manage and minimise the most important risks associated with SSRIs. It provides general information on managing SSRI withdrawal, followed by the following advice:
	“Severe cases (of withdrawal) may call for specialist advice and possible switch to an SSRI with longer half-life before gradual tapering.”
	The target audience for the learning module will know that 'specialist advice' means a psychiatrist or specialist mental health services. The expectation would be that once referred to such services, the patient will be managed appropriately by drawing in the skills of all relevant specialists.

Cancer

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to encourage clinical commissioning groups to reduce unnecessary emergency readmissions of cancer patients within 28 days of discharge.

Paul Burstow: NHS Improvement has been leading a Transforming In-patient Care programme for cancer patients to promote enhanced recovery programmes for elective surgery, the reduction of avoidable emergency admissions, and reducing lengths of stay for those who do need to be admitted as emergencies.
	To support improvement across the service, lessons learned from the Transforming In-patient Care Programme will be disseminated to providers and commissioners. Clinical commissioning groups will be under a statutory duty to obtain advice to ensure they are commissioning services to meet the needs of patients and protect their health, and this programme, together with the advice of clinical senates and networks will be a valuable source of expertise.

Dental Services

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were registered in England at NHS dentists in each of the last three years.

Simon Burns: Information is not available in the format requested.
	Under the current dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, patients do not have to be registered with a national health service dentist to receive NHS care. The closest equivalent measure to ‘registration’ is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services (‘patients seen’) over a 24-month period. However, this is not directly comparable to the registration data for earlier years.
	The numbers of patients seen by an NHS dentist in the last three years in England are available in the following table.
	It should be noted that the patients seen measure shows the number of patients who received NHS dental care in the previous 24 months; an equivalent measure covering the 12-month period is not available.
	
		
			 Number of patients seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 24-month period ending 31 March each year in England 
			  Number of patients 
			 2010 28,362,825 
			 2011 29,112,012 
			 2012 29,582,541 
		
	
	The information is taken from the ‘NHS Dental Statistics for England 2011/12, Third quarterly report’, published on 17 May 2012 by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, and is available online at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental1112q3

Diabetes

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the total number was of unplanned hospital admissions involving patients with a form of diabetes in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what the total number was of hospital bed days taken up by patients with diabetes in each year since 1997.

Paul Burstow: The following table identifies the number of finished admission episodes where there was either a primary or a secondary diagnosis of diabetes in England from 1997-98 to 2010-11, for non-elective hospital admissions.
	A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	
		
			  Episodes 
			 1997-98 189,283 
			 1998-99 206,193 
			 1999-2000 225,272 
			 2000-01 237,975 
			 2001-02 255,717 
			 2002-03 287,326 
			 2003-04 319,136 
			 2004-05 359,775 
			 2005-06 401,025 
			 2006-07 429,517 
			 2007-08 461,410 
			 2008-09 513,851 
			 2009-10 570,365 
			 2010-11 615,586 
		
	
	The following table identifies the number of finished consultant episode bed days where there was either a primary or a secondary diagnosis of diabetes in England from 1997-98 to 2010-11.
	These data should not be described as a count of people as the same person may have been admitted on more than one occasion and do not account for admissions that had started but not finished within the financial year.
	
		
			  Episodes 
			 1997-98 3,223,707 
			 1998-99 3,389,391 
			 1999-2000 3,608,950 
			 2000-01 3,889,916 
			 2001-02 4,223,874 
			 2002-03 4,831,110 
			 2003-04 5,059,325 
			 2004-05 5,319,268 
			 2005-06 5,577,981 
			 2006-07 5,554,183 
			 2007-08 5,719,773 
			 2008-09 6,095,138 
			 2009-10 6,548,166 
			 2010-11 6,678,441

Drugs: Prisons

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what clinical advice his Department provides on drug treatment in prison for those addicted to heroin; and what National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines exist on such treatment.

Paul Burstow: In 2006 the Department issued comprehensive guidance on the clinical drug treatment in prisons. In March 2010, this guidance was reiterated and reinforced to ensure that other than in exceptional circumstances, prison opioid substitution treatments (including methadone maintenance) should not exceed six months' duration.
	In 2007, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence issued a Technology Appraisal of methadone and buprenorphine for the management of opioid dependence, which found that these treatments were cost-effective and recommended their use to national health service funded organisations, including prisons.

Health Services: Tower Hamlets

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the operation of his Department's new funding formula for health services in Tower Hamlets.

Simon Burns: On 14 June, the public health finance update document, “Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Update on Public Health Funding”, was published. A copy has already been placed in the Library.
	This document sets out the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation's (ACRA) interim recommendations on the public health allocations formula, gives an update on the health premium, and sets out proposed conditions for the ring-fenced public health grant including proposals for local authority reporting on public health spend.
	These are interim recommendations. As part of this publication, ACRA identified areas needing further work before making its final recommendations for the formula for making 2013-14 allocations.
	The Department is now undertaking a focused engagement process with a full range of stakeholders including public health and local government representatives and the wider national health service community. This feedback will help the work to finalise ACRA's recommendations to support the 2013-14 allocations to local authorities.

Hospital Beds

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the total number was of patients staying in emergency beds for more than (a) 14 days and (b) 28 days in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what the total number was of emergency bed days taken up by patients staying in emergency beds longer than (a) 14 days and (b) 28 days in each year since 1997.

Simon Burns: The national health service does not categorise beds as emergency and non-emergency beds. NHS Information Centre Hospital Episode Statistics information on the number of emergency admissions with a total length of stay of more than 14 or 28 days, along with the total length of stay for all such admissions, is shown in the following table. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	
		
			 Count of discharge episodes(1) and total bed days(2) where there was an emergency admission method(3) and a total length of stay(4) in hospital of (a) more than 14 days and (b) more than 28 days in England from 1997-98 to 2010-11 
			 Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			 Length of stay: More than 14 days More than 28 days(5) 
			  Discharge episodes Total bed days Discharge episodes Total bed days 
			 1997-98 540,241 25,653,961 232,379 19,484,769 
			 1998-99 556,056 25,472,015 240,015 19,137,471 
			 1999-2000 556,216 23,952,506 241,201 17,632,440 
			 2000-01 570,342 26,954,807 253,512 20,596,108 
			 2001-02 588,888 26,284,646 266,341 19,798,465 
			 2002-03 598,440 26,368,633 271,961 19,798,801 
			 2003-04 613,344 26,044,563 274,091 19,225,431 
			 2004-05 602,846 25,302,016 265,957 18,532,851 
			 2005-06 578,605 23,952,023 251,844 17,394,544 
			 2006-07 548,300 22,925,967 237,405 16,689,852 
			 2007-08 529,999 20,652,793 226,372 14,559,261 
			 2008-09 550,637 21,468,684 234,510 15,120,476 
			 2009-10 552,643 21,036,016 231,147 14,584,190 
			 2010-11 537,841 20,442,818 221,400 14,103,317 
			 (1) Discharge episode: A discharge episode is the last episode during a hospital stay (a spell), where the patient is discharged from the hospital or transferred to another hospital. (2) Total bed days: This is the sum of the spell duration for all spells that ended within the financial year. It should be noted that bed days are only counted for finished spells during a financial year (including those from spells that started the preceding year). (3) Method of admission (emergencies): This field contains a code which identifies how the patient was admitted to hospital. (4) Length of stay (duration of spell): The difference in days between the admission date and the discharge date (duration of spell), where both dates are given. Length of stay is based on hospital stays and only applies to ordinary admissions not day cases (unless otherwise stated). (5) Length of stay (More than 28 days):The count of discharge episodes and total bed days where there was a length of stay of more than 28 days are included in the count of discharge episodes and total bed days where there was a length of stay of more than 14 days. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care

Hospitals: Admissions

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total number was of unplanned hospital admissions involving patients over the age of 65 in each year since 1997.

Simon Burns: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Count of finished admission episodes(1) (FAEs) for patients aged 65 and over where there was an emergency admission method(2) in England from 1997-98 to 2010-11 
			 Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  Episodes 
			 1997-98 1,406,319 
			 1998-99 1,481,856 
			 1999-2000 1,506,837 
			 2000-01 1,504,752 
			 2001-02 1,519,192 
			 2002-03 1,565,315 
			 2003-04 1,674,083 
			 2004-05 1,749,336 
			 2005-06 1,810,531 
			 2006-07 1,818,011 
			 2007-08 1,844,259 
			 2008-09 1,975,273 
			 2009-10 2,050,451 
			 2010-11 2,109,794 
		
	
	
		
			 (1) Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (2) Method of admission (emergencies) This field contains a code which identifies how the patient was admitted to hospital. The codes used to identify emergency episodes are: 21 = Emergency: via Accident and Emergency (A&E) services, including the casualty department of the provider 22 = Emergency: via general practitioner (GP) 23 = Emergency: via Bed Bureau, including the Central Bureau 24 = Emergency: via consultant out-patient clinic 28 = Emergency: other means, including patients who arrive via the A&E department of another health care provider Notes: 1. Assessing growth through time Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. 2. Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

Lost Working Days

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average number of working days lost was per person in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last three years.

Simon Burns: The average numbers of days lost to sickness in each of the last three calendar years in the Department (DH) and its agency, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Organisation Calendar year Total number of (working) absence days due to sickness Average working days lost per staff year due to sickness 
			 DH 2009 11,262 4.6 
			 DH 2010 11,810 4.5 
			 DH 2011 9,962 4.1 
			 MHRA 2009 7,297 7.5 
			 MHRA 2010 6,439 6.3 
			 MHRA 2011 5,138 5.2

Malnutrition

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total number of patients discharged from hospital with malnutrition was in each year between 1997 and 2010.

Paul Burstow: The information requested is not collected centrally. However, the following table shows a count of in year discharge episodes(1), where there was a primary or secondary diagnosis(2) of malnutrition(3), from 1997-98 to 2010-11. This indicates that the patient was diagnosed with, and would therefore receive the appropriate treatment, for malnutrition during the last episode of care before their discharge.
	
		
			  Finished in year discharge episodes 
			 1997-98 1,410 
			 1998-99 1,415 
			 1999-2000 1,540 
			 2000-01 1,381 
			 2001-02 1,517 
			 2002-03 1,719 
			 2003-04 1,818 
			 2004-05 2,006 
			 2005-06 2,265 
			 2006-07 2,883 
			 2007-08 3,008 
			 2008-09 3,633 
			 2009-10 4,412 
			 2010-11 5,558 
		
	
	
		
			 (1) In year discharge episodes A discharge episode is the last episode during a hospital stay (a spell), where the patient is discharged from the hospital or transferred to another hospital. (2) The count of discharges does not represent the number of in-patients; a person may have more than one admission within the year. (3) Primary or secondary diagnosis of malnutrition The number of episodes where this diagnosis was recorded in any of the 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 7 prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once, even if the diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record. Notes: 1. ICD10 Clinical Codes The ICD-10 codes for Malnutrition are: E40.X Kwashiorkor E41.X Nutritional marasmus E42.X Marasmic kwashiorkor E43.X Unspecified severe protein-energy malnutrition E44 Protein energy malnutrition of moderate and mild degree E45.X Retarded development following protein energy malnutrition E46 Unspecified protein-energy malnutrition O25 Malnutrition in pregnancy 2. Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. 3. Additional information Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

Manchester Declaration

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent contribution his Department and its non-departmental bodies and agencies have made to implementation of the 2005 Manchester Declaration.

Simon Burns: The Government published in May 2012 their information strategy for health and care in England, ‘The power, of information—Putting all of us in control of the health and care information we need’. This sets a 10-year framework to harness information and new technologies to achieve higher quality care and improve outcomes for patients and service users.
	A copy of the publication has already been placed in the Library and further information is available at:
	www.informationstrategy.dh.gov.uk
	This strategy aligns with the European Union actions on eHealth through the Digital Agenda for Europe 2010-20.

Mental Health Services: Kent

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people in Sevenoaks constituency are receiving treatment for mental health conditions;
	(2)  what the (a) mean and (b) median ages are of people receiving mental healthcare treatment in Sevenoaks constituency.

Paul Burstow: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of people using adult and elderly secondary mental health services by age in 2010-11 for Sevenoaks constituency 
			 Age group Number 
			 Under 18 55 
			 18-35 569 
			 36-64 880 
			 65 and over 925 
			 Total number of people 2,429 
			 Notes: 1. Data for 2010-11 is the most up-to-date available. 2. The MHMDS only covers adults using secondary mental health services and is therefore only a subset of those people being treated for mental health illnesses. 3. The MHMDS does not contain the range required to provide a mean and median age of people receiving mental healthcare treatment. Instead, the above table shows data by age grouping. 4. The MHMDS is a record level dataset covering mainly specialist NHS mental health services for working age adults and people over the age of 65. Some (but not all) independent service providers who provide services on behalf of the NHS are also included. The MHMDS includes information from medium secure services but does not include information from the three high security hospitals. 5. The quality of MHMDS data has been improving over time in general and with respect to key items and trust level data quality reports. Improvement in the completeness of recording all the activity which should be included in MHMDS is less easy to measure, as the MHMDS records the packages of care received by individuals and these vary widely. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Mental Health Minimum Dataset (MHMDS) 2010-11 annual returns.

Mental Health Services: Kent

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of NHS mental healthcare treatment was in Sevenoaks constituency in each of the last five financial years.

Paul Burstow: The information requested is not held on a constituency level. The following table sets out mental health expenditure for West Kent primary care trust (PCT), for the years 2006-07 to 2010-11.
	
		
			  Total expenditure (£000) 
			 Programme Budgeting Category 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 5—Mental health disorders 56,800 106,636 97,321 101,577 115,228 
			 This includes:      
			 5a—Substance misuse 11,286 2,577 3,616 4,777 3,579 
			 5b—Organic mental disorders 4,493 8,367 8,292 12,721 8,525 
			 5c—Psychotic disorders 3,136 12,925 17,778 19,037 23,628 
			 5d—Child and adolescent mental health disorders 4,730 6,817 11,100 11,905 9,163 
			 5x—Mental health disorders (Other) 33,155 75,950 56,535 53,137 70,333 
		
	
	
		
			 Notes: 1. Estimates of expenditure are calculated using price paid for specific activities and services purchased from health care providers. PCTs follow standard guidance, procedures and mappings when calculating programme budgeting data. 2. Figures include expenditure across all sectors. Disease specific expenditure do not include expenditure on general practitioners (GP) contracts but do include prescribing expenditure. 3. Not all expenditure relating to ‘Mental Health disorders’ will be included within the figures given. Analysing expenditure for the programme budgeting return is complex, and there are some service areas where local commissioners do not have sufficient information to determine which expenditure on specific patients and conditions. In primary care, the majority of PCTs do not have information to identify the health care condition that was the main reason for a patients appointment with a GP or Practice Nurse. Additionally, for many patients the diagnosis may be unknown at the time of the appointment or the patient may have multiple conditions. For out-patient activity most PCTs do not have information to identify the health care condition that was the main reason for out-patient attendances. For community care, PCTs may not have sufficient information to accurately allocate expenditure to programme categories. 4. The allocation of expenditure to programme budgeting subcategories is not always straightforward, and subcategory level data should therefore be used with caution. 5.The programme budgeting data collection methodology and underlying data sources are subject to yearly changes to improve the data quality. Due to the significant changes made to calculation methodologies, it is not possible to make direct comparisons with programme budgeting data from previous years. Source: Annual PCT programme budgeting Programme Budgeting data collection

Mental Health Services: Kent

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has made an assessment of future demand for NHS mental healthcare treatment in (a) Sevenoaks constituency and (b) Kent.

Paul Burstow: No such assessment has been made centrally. The planning and provision of health care services is a matter for local national health service organisations.

Mental Health Services: Kent

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an assessment of the role of voluntary organisations in providing mental healthcare treatment in (a) Sevenoaks constituency and (b) Kent.

Paul Burstow: The role of voluntary organisations in providing mental health services locally is a matter for local national health service organisations. Local voluntary and community organisations can draw on the wealth of experience of their local communities in meeting the needs of people they work with, including people experiencing poor mental health who may also feel socially excluded. Some of these organisations have experience of helping people to manage their own mental health better in the community—including through peer support services, user-led self-help groups, mentoring and befriending, and time-banking schemes, which enable service users to be both providers and recipients of support.
	Well-managed and well-supported volunteering opportunities can help people to develop the skills and confidence to play a more active role in their own wellbeing and their community, and to influence the shape and scope of local services. Innovative approaches aimed at involving service users and the wider community can also help to break down barriers and reduce stigma.

NHS: Drugs

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether his Department has established any inquiries into bribery by the pharmaceutical and drug sector related to treatment in the NHS in the last 30 years;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department of the recent fining of UK pharmaceutical companies for bribing doctors in the US to prescribe anti-depressants to (a) children and (b) adults; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: No such inquiries have been established by the Department.
	In the United Kingdom, the advertising of medicines is controlled by a combination of statutory measures (with both criminal and civil sanctions), enforced by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and self-regulation through Codes of Practice for the pharmaceutical industry, administered by trade associations.
	In addition, under the Bribery Act 2010, it is a criminal offence for an individual to give or receive a bribe. It is also a corporate offence if a business operating in the UK is found to have failed to prevent bribery.
	The MHRA carried out an exhaustive investigation in 2008 into GlaxoSmithKline's compliance with legal obligations to report key safety information and on its promotion of unlicensed uses of Seroxat. That investigation concluded that the company could, and should, have communicated safety information sooner than they did but that the law was not sufficiently clear to support legal action. In response, both the UK legislation and European law on reporting requirements have been strengthened.

Obesity

Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of obesity and obesity-related conditions in (a) 2012, (b) 2015 and (c) 2020;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the economy of obesity in (a) 2012, (b) 2015 and (c) 2020.

Anne Milton: The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the estimated cost of obesity to the national health service and the economy. However, a recent analysis of the economic burden of a range of risk factors for chronic disease estimated that overweight and obesity now cost the NHS £5.1 billion per year.
	The Foresight team which is part of the Government Office for Science published “Tackling Obesities: Future Choices” in 2007. The Foresight team estimated the cost of obesity and overweight to society and the economy were almost £16 billion in 2007, with a potential to rise to just under £50 billion in 2050 if the increase in obesity rates were to continue unchecked.

Palliative Care

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the NHS Outcomes Framework on Improving the experience of care for people at the end of their lives, whether the proposed indicator will measure whether people's wishes regarding a preferred place of death were met.

Paul Burstow: The proposed indicator for improving the experience of care for people at the end of their lives will be based on responses to the National Bereavement Survey (VOICES). This survey, which seeks the views of carers on the care that their loved one received, does contain questions regarding whether or not people were involved in decisions about their care and if their preferences and choices for care were met.
	The findings from the first survey have been published by the Office for National Statistics at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-health1/national-bereavement-survey--voices-/2011/stb-statistical-bulletin.html
	with a complementary report, ‘First national VOICES survey of the bereaved: key findings report’, published by the Department. A copy of the Department's report has been placed in the Library.
	The proposed indicator seeks to measure the quality of people's experience in the last three months of life.

Prescription Drugs

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions were issued for the (a) (i) Paxil and (ii) Wellbutrin forms of anti-depressant and (b) Advair forms of asthma treatment in each year since its introduction.

Simon Burns: Paxil (paroxetine) is marketed in the United Kingdom as Seroxat. Wellbutrin (bupropion) is not licensed as an anti-depressant in the UK. Advair (fluticasone propionate combined with salmeterol) is marketed as Seretide.
	The table shows the number of prescription items dispensed in the community in England for Seroxat, Wellbutrin and Seretide for each available year(1). The specific indication for which a medicine is prescribed is not collected.
	(1) 1991 is the earliest complete dataset available.
	
		
			  Number of prescription items(1) 
			  Seroxat Wellbutrin Seretide 
			 1991 53,600 0 0 
			 1992 316,361 0 0 
			 1993 572,473 0 0 
			 1994 784,982 0 0 
			 1995 1,128,164 0 0 
			 1996 1,691,474 5 0 
			 1997 2,287,243 3 0 
			 1998 2,719,180 12 0 
			 1999 3,144,937 20 131,555 
			 2000 3,452,272 8 463,075 
			 2001 3,786,829 0 957,974 
			 2002 2,125,004 0 1,477,565 
			 2003 715,931 1 2,147,353 
			 2004 376,282 0 3,048,477 
			 2005 119,564 0 3,970,822 
			 2006 101,617 0 4,711,504 
			 2007 108,434 0 5,303,141 
			 2008 141,707 0 5,831,964 
			 2009 158,990 0 6,315,863 
		
	
	
		
			 2010 170,020 0 6,676,587 
			 2011 173,354 0 6,917,503 
			 (1) Does not include generic equivalents which may also have been dispensed. Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system

Private Finance Initiative

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the total value is of PFI schemes signed between 1997 and 2010; and what estimate he has made of the amount it will cost the NHS to pay back these schemes;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the total number of individual PFI schemes signed between 1999 and May 2010, the value of each individual scheme and the total estimated cost to pay back each scheme.

Simon Burns: Information on the estimated annual revenue payments for the lifetime of each national health service private finance initiative (PFI) contract signed between 1997 and May 2010 can be found on the Treasury's website at:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/pfi_current_projects_list_march_2012.xls
	These are the latest estimates collected from each Department for end of March 2012; the health sector schemes are clearly marked "Department of Health" and then "DH-Acute (i.e. Hospitals)". The initial capital cost of each scheme is shown in column R and the annual revenue payment in the columns headed ‘Unitary Charge Payment’.
	The Treasury table shows that the total initial capital expenditure of the 102 NHS schemes that have been signed is £11.4 billion and the estimated total revenue payments is £76.2 billion. The revenue payment figures include not just the financing costs for initial construction but also the costs of all the other services such as building maintenance and support services (cleaning, catering, portering etc.) provided over the lifetime of the contract. The payments are subject to meeting agreed performance and quality standards and include an annual uprate assumption for inflation of 2.5%.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Carbon Emissions: Business

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps she plans to take to promote voluntary uptake of carbon reporting for companies not required to report under the mandatory scheme from April 2013;
	(2)  what discussions she has had with the organisations which supported a voluntary approach in response to her Department's consultation on greenhouse gas reporting.

Richard Benyon: My noble Friend, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, and his predecessor, my noble Friend, Lord Henley, have met with a range of organisations to discuss greenhouse gas reporting, including the Freight Transport Association and the Manufacturers' Organisation for UK Manufacturing (EEF), which both supported a voluntary approach.
	We will continue to work closely with the Carbon Disclosure Project, the Climate Standard Disclosure Board, and other non-governmental organisations to encourage voluntary measuring and reporting of greenhouse gases by non-quoted companies.

Carbon Emissions: Business

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evidence she plans to gather on the progress of mandatory carbon reporting for quoted companies to inform her post-implementation review in 2015.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 9 July 2012
	Details of the post-implementation review, and the evidence to be gathered, are set out in section 12 of the impact assessment on carbon reporting, which is available on DEFRA's website. The review will include evidence from a range of different stakeholders on the actual costs experienced by companies, as well as the benefits that they attribute to the process of mandatory reporting.

Common Fisheries Policy

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2012, Official Report, column 17W, on Common Fisheries Policy, what agreement was reached at the meeting on 12 June 2012 on arrangements for providing member states to take non-discriminatory measures for the conservation and management of fish stocks which apply to foreign vessels fishing within their 12-mile limits.

Richard Benyon: The General Approach agreed at the Fisheries Council in Luxembourg on 12/13 June, maintains the current derogation setting out member state control over fishery activities in waters from 0 to 12 nautical miles. This includes provision to apply non discriminatory conservation and management measures in the 0 to 12 nautical mile zone.
	Where such measures are liable to affect fishing vessels of other member states, they shall be adopted only after consultation with the Commission, relevant member states and relevant Advisory Councils. Member states may set a reasonable deadline for consultation on draft measures, but this should not be shorter than one month.

Pheasants

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department has spent on protecting game birds from attacks by buzzards in each of the last five years for which figures are available; what spending has been allocated for this purpose over the next three years; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 6 July 2012
	DEFRA has not spent any money on directly protecting game birds from attacks by buzzards in the last five years, nor has any funding been allocated for this purpose over the next three years.
	DEFRA has, however, funded the Food and Environment Research Agency to undertake a desk study in January 2012 entitled "Approaches to mitigating bird of prey conflicts with pheasants at release pens, outdoor poultry and lambs" at a total cost of £24,694. The report can be found on the DEFRA website.
	DEFRA has made provision for up to £125,000 to be available in each of the current and following two financial years for additional research to look at the relationship between raptors (including buzzards), livestock, wildlife and game birds. DEFRA will collaborate with all the organisations that have an interest in this issue to identify and develop any future research proposals.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Business

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Deputy Prime Minister on mandatory greenhouse gas reporting for companies.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 9 July 2012
	The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, has frequent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of important issues, including mandatory corporate reporting of greenhouse gas emissions.

Natural Capital Committee

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the budget is for the Natural Capital Committee in financial year 2012-13.

Richard Benyon: In 2012-13, the Natural Capital Committee has a budget of up to approximately £400,000, including administrative costs and research and development (R&D). From 2013-14 onwards, the budget is expected to increase to over £500,000, reflecting an increase in R&D activities.

Natural Capital Committee

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on the Natural Capital Committee's work programme in 2012-13; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The Natural Capital Committee met on 23 May and has begun to formulate a work programme around the terms of its remit. This is:
	1. Advice on when, where and how natural assets are being used unsustainably.
	2. Advice on how government should prioritise action.
	3. Advice on research priorities to improve future advice.
	The work programme is being developed and will be published as soon as it is ready.

PRIME MINISTER

G8

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Prime Minister to what extent his work as a member of the UN Secretary General's High Level Panel on the post-Millennium Development Goal framework will be reflected in the agenda for the UK presidency of the G8 Summit in 2013.

David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bury South (Mr Lewis), on 18 June 2012, Official Report, column 632W. The Government are developing a programme for the UK's G8 presidency.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Housing Benefit: Greater London

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the average change in private sector housing benefit supported rents in each London borough for the 12 months up to May 2012.

Steve Webb: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	The information is not available.

Housing: Construction

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the £30 million announced in the Government's Housing Strategy in November 2011 will be available to support provision of short-term project finance to the self-build sector.

Grant Shapps: The £30 million Custom Build Homes investment fund to support provision of short-term project finance for group self build projects on a repayable basis was launched on 7 July 2012.
	Full details can be obtained from the Homes and Communities Agency. Separate arrangements for London will be announced shortly by the Greater London Authority.

Housing: Greater London

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) council house, (b) housing association and (c) private sector housing units were completed in each London borough in (i) 2011-12 and (ii) 2012-13 to date; and how many he expects to be completed in 2013.

Grant Shapps: Statistics on house building in each English local authority are published on the Department for Communities and Local Government website in live table 253 at the following link.
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/housebuilding/livetables/
	The Department does not forecast levels of overall house building.
	From 1 April 2012, the Mayor of London has had oversight of strategic housing, regeneration and economic development in London. The Mayor has clearly stated that over the next three years he anticipates delivering 55,000 affordable homes within London. Within the settlement letter agreed between this Department and the Greater London authority we are expecting them to deliver 36,000 affordable homes by March 2015.

Land Investment Companies

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will review the (a) operation and (b) regulation of land investment companies.

Mark Hoban: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	Regulation of land investment companies which fall within the scope of Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) as defined in section 235 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 is a matter for the Financial Services Authority, as the independent regulator.
	The Financial Services Authority keeps the coverage of collective investment schemes under review.

Local Government Finance

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what specific grants and ring-fenced funding he has paid to local authorities in 2011-12; and what such grants and funding he plans to pay to local authorities in 2012-13.

Grant Shapps: holding answer 5 July 2012
	In line with Government policy my Department has not made any payments to local authorities that have been ring-fenced in 2011-12 and there are no plans to do so in 2012-13.
	My Department paid specific grants to local authorities from a number of DCLG programmes in 2011-12 totalling £2.3 billion; the programmes are broken down in the following table. As set out in the Department's business plan we estimate that the Department will provide total funding for specific grants of around £1.5 billion in 2012-13. The details have not yet been finalised but funding will be from programmes including Disabled Facilities Grant, Decent Homes, Weekly Waste, Preventing Homelessness.
	However as set out in the Statement of Intent published in June 2012 the Government has considered the scope for further simplification and will include a number of specific grants in the business rates retention system from April 2013.
	All grant spending, including specific grants to local authorities, over £500 since 2008-09 is also published on the website as part of my Department's broader transparency agenda.
	
		
			 £000 
			 Programme name Resource grant Capital grant Total 
			 Housing—New Homes Bonus 234,260 0 234,260 
			 Housing—Affordable Housing programme 0 35,130 35,130 
		
	
	
		
			 Housing—Property and Regeneration programme 0 136,798 136,798 
			 Housing—Preventing Homelessness(1) 131,635 0 131,635 
			 Housing—Decent Homes programme 0 300,000 300,000 
			 Housing—Other 7,247 40,705 47,952 
			 Growing Places Fund 8,427 453,083 461,510 
			 Disabled Facilities Grants 0 180,007 180,007 
			 Fire 79,801 113,494 193,295 
			 Decentralisation and Big Society 1,853 0 1,853 
			 London Settlement (GLA) 321,552 28,230 349,782 
			 Olympic Legacy and Thames Gateway 9,454 120,577 130,031 
			 Troubled Families 8,519 0 8,519 
			 Transition Grant(2) 96,199 0 96,199 
			 Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder(2) 4,001 0 4,001 
			 Other small grants 1,800 0 1,800 
			  904,748 1,408,024 2,312,772 
			 (1) Preventing Homeless was paid in part (£90,340) through Local Services Support Grant (2) Transition Grant and Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders grant were paid entirely through Local Services Support Grant

Manchester Declaration

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress his Department and its agencies have made on implementation of the Manchester Declaration of 2005.

Bob Neill: My Department and its agencies support the Government's commitment to use digital technologies to transform the quality of public services, to improve transparency and accountability of public bodies, to secure value for money and foster economic growth. These objectives are consistent with the 2005 Manchester Declaration.
	The forthcoming Departmental Digital Strategy, due to be published in December alongside the Government Digital Strategy, will describe these actions in more detail.

Non-domestic Rates

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities will be (a) tariffed and (b) topped-up from 2013 following reforms to non-domestic rates; and what the amounts for each local authority will be.

Bob Neill: We will be consulting this summer on the technical details of the Business Rates Retention arrangements, including tariff and top-up proposals. This consultation will build on the proposals in the Government's response to consultation published in December 2011. We will set out our final proposals for which local authorities will be tariff and top-up in the provisional 2013-14 Local Government Finance settlement later this year.

Departmental Pay

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the lowest hourly rate is paid to staff by his Department; how many members of staff based outside London are paid less than £7.20 per hour; and how many members of staff based in London are paid less than £8.30 per hour.

Bob Neill: The lowest hourly rate to a member of staff in the Department for Communities and Local Government is £7.80 an hour.
	There are no staff based outside London paid less than £7.20 an hour, and no staff based in London paid less than £8.30 an hour.

Planning Permission

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to allow local authorities to charge for planning applications received as a result of direction under Article 4 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995.

Bob Neill: There are no plans to allow local authorities to charge for such applications.
	The permitted development regime is set nationally, and seeks to strike a balance between allowing individual freedom to carry out development while protecting the interests of neighbours and the wider environment. As the nationally set criteria can have differing impacts when applied locally, local councils are able to consult the local community on whether to withdraw specific permitted development rights using article 4 directions. Where an article 4 direction is in place, a planning application must be submitted in the normal way, but no application fee is payable where the development would otherwise have been permitted under the General Permitted Development Order.

Rented Housing

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will review the Housing Act 2004 and related legislation to entitle tenants to be re-housed when they have to leave their home for works to take place which are required of their landlord to comply with a local authority issued improvement notice.

Andrew Stunell: Statutory guidance already makes it clear that, in serving a prohibition order under the powers in the Housing Act 2004, local authorities should consider the availability of alternative housing for tenants who may need to be re-housed.
	The guidance explains that, although in some cases, provision may have been made as part of the relevant tenancy agreement, in general terms, it is unreasonable to expect a private landlord, who may have a very small portfolio of only one or two properties, to re-house a tenant who has been made homeless as a result of the actions of a local authority.
	The guidance—‘Housing Health and Safety Rating System, enforcement guidance’—can be found at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/safetyratingsystem.pdf
	We have no plans to review the legislation or the associated guidance.

Social Impact Bonds and Home Bonuses

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions there have been within (a) his Department and (b) HM Treasury on (i) social impact bonds and (ii) home bonuses.

Grant Shapps: As a result of close working between my Department and Her Majesty's Treasury, in March this year we announced that £5 million has been set aside for a new Social Impact Bond to help London's persistent rough sleepers off the streets and into secure homes.
	Ministers within the Department for Communities and Local Government regularly meet colleagues from Her Majesty's Treasury to discuss a range of matters. There are also regular discussions within the Department on a variety of issues.

JUSTICE

Lost Working Days

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average number of working days lost was per person in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last three years.

Kenneth Clarke: The average number of working days lost by staff in the Ministry of Justice and its agencies in each of the last three years for which information is available, is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Average working days lost 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 MoJ HQ(1) 8.5 4.6 6.1 
			 Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service(2) (4)— 8 7.4 
			 The Office of the Public Guardian (4)— 6.2 6.1 
		
	
	
		
			 Wales Office(3) (4)— 4 — 
			 Scotland Office(3) (4)— 2.3 — 
			 The National Offender Management Service 10.7 10.1 9.8 
			 Total for Department 10 9.2 8.9 
			 (1) In 2011 HQ included additional staff from NOMS and Home Office as a result of Restructuring. (2) Her Majesty's Courts Service and the Tribunals Service merged on 1 April 2011. Data prior to this date have been aggregated. (3) Scotland and Wales Office ceased to be part of the MoJ from l April 2011 after moving to the Office of the Territories.

Probation: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had with Essex Probation on any (a) overspend and (b) underspend by the authority since July 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: The National Offender Management Service holds quarterly contract review meetings with Essex Probation Trust, at which any or under or overspends are discussed.

Road Traffic Offences: Cycling

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many cyclists have been prosecuted for wanton and furious cycling in each court division in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many cyclists have been prosecuted for cycling offences in each court division in each of the last 10 years by type of offence.

Crispin Blunt: Data held centrally on the Court Proceedings Database do not include information about all the circumstances behind each case other than which may be identified from a statute. From proceedings for offences of wanton and furious driving, it is not possible to specifically identify whether the defendant was a cyclist.
	The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for selected cycling offences, by Police Force Area, in England and Wales, from 2001 to 2011, can be viewed in the table as follows:
	
		
			 Defendants proceeded against at magistrates court for selected cycling offences, by Police Force Area, England and Wales, 2001-11(1,2) 
			 Offence and Police Force Area 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008(3) 2009 2010 2011 
			 Pedal cycle—riding to common danger            
			 CityofLondon — — — 1 1 — — — — — — 
			 Humberside — — 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Merseyside — 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 MetropolitanPolice — — 1 3 1 — — — — — — 
			 Northumbria — — — — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Total — 1 2 4 2 — 1 — — — — 
			             
			 Cyclists fail to stop on signal and failing to comply with traffic signals or signs            
			 AvonandSomerset — — — 2 1 1 1 — 1 3 2 
			 Cambridgeshire 1 — — — 1 14 — 3 — 1 — 
		
	
	
		
			 Cheshire — — 3 1 — — — — — — 2 
			 CityofLondon — — 3 2 3 1 — 3 11 14 36 
			 Cumbria 7 8 3 — 1 4 — 2 1 1 — 
			 Derbyshire — — — — — — — 1 — — 1 
			 DevonandCornwall — — — — — — — 1 — 1 — 
			 Dorset — — — — — — — — — 1 1 
			 Essex — 1 1 — — — — — — 1 — 
			 Gloucestershire — — — 2 1 — — — — — — 
			 GreaterManchester 3 2 5 1 — 2 — 1 — — 1 
			 Hampshire — — 2 3 1 3 2 2 1 — 2 
			 Hertfordshire — — — — 1 — — — 1 — — 
			 Humberside — — 1 1 5 3 2 3 4 3 3 
			 Kent — — — 1 — — — — — — 1 
			 Lancashire — — 1 — — 1 — — 1 — 1 
			 Lincolnshire — — — 2 — — — — — — 1 
			 Merseyside — — — — — 1 — 2 — — 1 
			 MetropolitanPolice 2 4 11 3 2 10 5 8 11 19 137 
			 Norfolk 2 — — — — 1 — 1 1 3 2 
			 NorthYorkshire 9 1 — 1 1 — 5 1 3 1 2 
			 Northamptonshire — — — — 1 — — — 1 — — 
			 Northumbria 4 3 5 15 14 8 4 4 6 4 4 
			 Nottinghamshire — — — — — 1 — — 1 — 1 
			 SouthYorkshire — — — — — — — — 1 3 — 
			 Staffordshire — — — — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Suffolk 4 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Surrey — — — — — — — — — 2 — 
			 Sussex 3 — — — 1 1 — — — 2 — 
			 ThamesValley — — 3 1 1 1 1 — — — 1 
			 WestMercia — — — — 1 — 1 — 1 — — 
			 WestMidlands — — — — — 2 — — — 3 — 
			 WestYorkshire — — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Wiltshire — — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Gwent 2 — — — — — 1 — 1 — — 
			 NorthWales — — — — — — — — — 1 — 
			 SouthWales 1 — — — — — — — 2 — — 
			 Total 38 19 38 35 35 55 22 34 48 63 199 
			             
			 Bicycle, more than one person carried            
			 Bedfordshire — — — — — — — — — — 1 
			 Cumbria — — 1 — — 1 3 — — — — 
			 DevonandCornwall — — — 1 — — — — — — — 
			 Gloucestershire — 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 GreaterManchester — 1 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Hampshire — — — — — — — — — — 2 
			 Humberside 1 — 1 — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Kent — — — — 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Lincolnshire — — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 MetropolitanPolice — — 1 — — — — — — 1 — 
			 NorthYorkshire — 1 — — — — — — 2 — — 
			 Northamptonshire — — — — 2 — — — — — — 
			 Northumbria — 1 1 — 1 1 1 — — 1 — 
			 SouthYorkshire 1 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Staffordshire — — — — — — — — — — 1 
			 Suffolk — — — 3 2 2 — — — — — 
			 Surrey — — — — — — — — 1 — — 
			 WestMercia 1 — — — 1 — — 1 — — — 
			 WestMidlands — — — — — — 1 — — — 2 
			 WestYorkshire — — — — — — — — — — 1 
			 Wiltshire — 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Total 3 5 5 4 7 4 5 3 3 2 8 
			             
		
	
	
		
			 Pedal cycles—riding on footpath            
			 AvonandSomerset 4 — 2 1 3 — — 3 5 4 3 
			 Bedfordshire 1 1 — — 1 — 2 — — 1 — 
			 Cambridgeshire — — — — — — 3 3 5 5 3 
			 Cheshire 1 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 CityofLondon — 1 — 4 3 1 3 7 2 5 4 
			 Cleveland 1 — — — 1 2 10 6 2 1 3 
			 Cumbria 26 12 8 14 17 12 9 4 3 4 2 
			 Derbyshire — 2 1 1 — — — — — — — 
			 DevonandCornwall 2 4 1 2 — — — 2 — 2 1 
			 Dorset 3 2 2 3 1 — 14 1 5 2 — 
			 Durham — — — 1 1 — 3 — 1 — — 
			 Essex 2 1 — 1 3 6 — 3 7 3 — 
			 Gloucestershire 1 — — 1 — — — — 5 2 1 
			 GreaterManchester 5 7 14 7 4 1 4 6 6 6 15 
			 Hampshire 6 5 14 8 6 6 9 20 16 8 21 
			 Hertfordshire 2 1 — 2 2 2 — — — — — 
			 Humberside 25 18 7 8 20 11 12 13 42 72 51 
			 Kent 1 — 2 — 3 4 4 1 — 1 1 
			 Lancashire 2 1 3 4 — 2 2 1 2 2 — 
			 Leicestershire 5 2 — — 1 — 1 3 1 1 — 
			 Lincolnshire 3 2 1 3 — 5 2 1 2 — — 
			 Merseyside 3 3 6 6 4 1 3 5 9 13 10 
			 MetropolitanPolice 11 8 10 17 29 48 17 18 49 153 254 
			 Norfolk — 1 1 1 2 — 2 3 1 3 6 
			 NorthYorkshire 1 1 1 7 7 3 6 5 8 5 6 
			 Northamptonshire — — — 1 — — — — — — 1 
			 Northumbria 15 3 10 14 15 26 21 21 8 28 15 
			 Nottinghamshire — — 1 1 4 5 4 4 10 5 4 
			 SouthYorkshire 1 — — — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Staffordshire — — 2 — — — 1 1 — — — 
			 Suffolk 2 3 1 1 2 — 1 — 2 — — 
			 Surrey — — — — — — — 1 1 1 1 
			 Sussex 1 3 1 — 2 1 — 1 1 3 4 
			 ThamesValley 1 1 1 — — 1 1 — 2 2 — 
			 WestMercia 8 9 1 4 4 3 3 1 — 4 1 
			 WestMidlands 1 2 1 — 3 1 8 6 6 2 — 
			 WestYorkshire 2 1 1 1 — 1 1 1 — 1 2 
			 Wiltshire 2 — 3 4 3 2 3 2 1 1 — 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1 — — — — — — — — 1 — 
			 Gwent — — — — — — — — 1 1 2 
			 NorthWales — — — — 1 — — — — — 1 
			 SouthWales — — — 1 1 — — 1 1 — — 
			 Total 139 94 95 118 143 145 149 144 204 342 412 
			             
			 Offences connected with pedal cycles; in relation to pedestrian crossings            
			 Bedfordshire — — — — 1 — — — — — — 
			 Cleveland — 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 DevonandCornwall — — 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Dyfed-Powys — — 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Total — 1 2 — 1 — — — — — — 
			             
			 Pedal cycles—failing to obey signal            
			 Cambridgeshire — — 1 — — — 2 — — — — 
			 CityofLondon — — — — — 2 — — — — — 
			 Cleveland — — 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Derbyshire — 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 GreaterManchester — — — — — — 1 — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			 Hampshire 3 2 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Merseyside 1 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 MetropolitanPolice — 1 1 — 1 1 — — — — — 
			 NorthYorkshire 4 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Staffordshire — 2 — — — — — — — — — 
			 ThamesValley 1 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 SouthWales — — 1 6 2 2 3 — — — — 
			 Total 9 8 5 6 3 5 6 — — — — 
			             
			 Riding, causing or permitting riding a bicycle with defective brakes            
			 AvonandSomerset — — — 1 — 1 — — 1 1 — 
			 Bedfordshire — — — — 1 — — — — — — 
			 Cambridgeshire — — — 1 — — 1 — — 1 — 
			 CityofLondon — — — 2 — — — — — 1 — 
			 Cleveland — — — — — 2 2 1 — — 1 
			 Cumbria 2 1 — 1 1 1 — — — — — 
			 Derbyshire — — — — 1 — — — — — — 
			 DevonandCornwall — — — 1 — — — — 1 — — 
			 Dorset — 1 — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Durham — 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Gloucestershire — — 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 GreaterManchester 1 3 2 5 — 1 — — 1 1 — 
			 Hampshire — — — — 2 — — 1 — — — 
			 Humberside 3 1 — 3 — — 1 1 3 2 2 
			 Kent — — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Lancashire — — 1 — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Leicestershire — — — — — 1 — — 1 — — 
			 Lincolnshire 1 — — 1 — — — — 1 — 1 
			 Merseyside 1 — — 1 3 6 4 4 — — — 
			 MetropolitanPolice — — 1 2 1 2 — 2 1 1 2 
			 Norfolk 2 — — — — 1 — 1 — — — 
			 NorthYorkshire — 1 — 1 — — — 1 — 2 1 
			 Northumbria 1 4 5 1 1 3 7 1 4 3 1 
			 Nottinghamshire 1 — — — — — 2 — — — — 
			 SouthYorkshire — — — — — — — — — 1 — 
			 Staffordshire — — — — 1 — — — — 1 — 
			 Suffolk — — — — — — — — 1 1 — 
			 Surrey — — — 1 — — — — — — — 
			 Warwickshire 1 — 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 WestMercia — — — — 1 — 1 1 — — — 
			 WestMidlands 1 — 1 — 1 — — 1 — 1 2 
			 WestYorkshire 1 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Wiltshire — — — — 1 — — — — — — 
			 Dyfed-Powys — — — — — — 2 — — — — 
			 Gwent 1 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Total 16 12 12 21 14 18 20 17 14 16 10 
			             
			 Dangerous riding by pedal cyclist            
			 AvonandSomerset — — — — 1 1 — — 2 — 2 
			 Cambridgeshire — — 1 1 — — — — — 2 — 
			 Cheshire 1 — — 1 — — — — — — — 
			 CityofLondon — — 2 — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Cleveland — — — — — 1 — — — 2 — 
			 Cumbria — 1 1 2 2 — 1 — — — 1 
			 Derbyshire 2 3 — 1 1 — — — — — — 
			 DevonandCornwall — — — — — — 1 — 3 1 1 
			 Dorset — — — — — — — — — 1 1 
			 Durham — — — 2 — — — — — — — 
			 Essex 1 — — — 1 1 — 2 — — 2 
		
	
	
		
			 Gloucestershire — — — — — 1 — — 1 — — 
			 GreaterManchester 2 2 3 2 — 2 — 1 — 1 2 
			 Hampshire — 2 1 4 — 2 — 1 2 1 2 
			 Humberside 1 — 1 1 — — — — 2 3 1 
			 Kent — — — — — — — — — 1 1 
			 Lancashire 3 1 — 1 — 2 — — — — — 
			 Leicestershire — — — 2 1 — — — — 1 1 
			 Lincolnshire — 1 — — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Merseyside 1 2 2 1 1 — — 1 — 1 — 
			 MetropolitanPolice 3 3 3 10 11 2 11 5 7 14 13 
			 Norfolk 1 — — — — — — 1 — — 1 
			 NorthYorkshire 1 3 1 — 1 2 — 2 — — 1 
			 Northamptonshire — — — — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Northumbria 3 4 3 4 4 3 6 7 2 6 2 
			 Nottinghamshire — — — 1 — — — — — 1 — 
			 SouthYorkshire 5 — — — 1 1 — — — — — 
			 Staffordshire — — — — — — — — — — 1 
			 Suffolk 1 — — — 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Surrey — 1 1 — 1 — — — — 1 — 
			 Sussex — — — — — — 1 — — 3 1 
			 ThamesValley — — — — — — — 1 1 — 1 
			 WestMercia — 1 — — 3 1 — 1 — 2 1 
			 WestMidlands 2 1 1 2 1 4 4 1 — — 2 
			 WestYorkshire 3 — — — — — — 1 1 — — 
			 Wiltshire — 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Dyfed-Powys — — — — 1 — — — — — — 
			 Gwent — 1 — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 NorthWales — — — — — — — — — — 2 
			 SouthWales — — 1 2 2 1 1 — — — — 
			 Total 30 27 21 37 33 25 27 25 21 41 40 
			             
			 Careless riding by pedal cyclist            
			 AvonandSomerset — 3 4 2 9 3 6 5 2 3 4 
			 Bedfordshire — — 1 1 — — — — — — — 
			 Cambridgeshire 5 — — — — 2 2 2 3 5 2 
			 Cheshire 2 1 2 1 1 1 — — — — 1 
			 CityofLondon — — 2 1 2 8 2 1 2 3 4 
			 Cleveland — — 2 1 — — — 1 — 1 — 
			 Cumbria 1 — 3 6 4 4 2 2 1 4 4 
			 Derbyshire — — — 1 — — — — 1 — — 
			 DevonandCornwall 2 4 — 4 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 
			 Dorset — 1 1 — — 1 1 1 2 1 3 
			 Durham — — — 2 1 — — 3 — — — 
			 Essex — — 6 6 4 1 — 2 2 4 — 
			 Gloucestershire 4 3 1 — 1 — — — — 2 2 
			 GreaterManchester 6 4 — 2 1 1 3 5 3 2 5 
			 Hampshire 2 3 4 2 2 3 — 4 3 6 — 
			 Hertfordshire — — 3 1 — — 1 1 — — — 
			 Humberside — 1 2 — 5 2 — 2 5 5 6 
			 Kent 1 1 3 1 2 2 — 1 1 1 1 
			 Lancashire — 1 1 3 5 — 1 1 2 3 1 
			 Leicestershire 2 — 2 2 — 3 1 2 1 2 1 
			 Lincolnshire — — 1 — — 1 1 4 2 2 4 
			 Merseyside 3 — 1 7 5 1 — 2 — 5 2 
			 MetropolitanPolice 13 13 6 15 10 20 15 15 23 29 45 
			 Norfolk 1 3 2 1 — 4 1 3 2 1 5 
			 NorthYorkshire 2 6 2 3 1 — 2 — 2 1 4 
			 Northamptonshire — — — — 1 1 3 1 — 1 1 
			 Northumbria 5 6 2 7 8 5 10 4 8 5 3 
			 Nottinghamshire 5 1 1 — — 1 2 1 1 — — 
			 SouthYorkshire — 1 — — — — — 1 1 1 3 
		
	
	
		
			 Staffordshire 1 2 3 — 1 2 — 1 2 — — 
			 Suffolk 1 — 1 1 2 — 1 — 2 3 — 
			 Surrey — 1 1 1 — 1 1 3 2 1 — 
			 Sussex — — — — 1 1 — 2 — — — 
			 ThamesValley 1 2 1 6 3 — 1 1 3 — — 
			 Warwickshire — — 3 2 — — 2 2 2 — 1 
			 WestMercia 8 2 3 7 3 9 6 6 7 5 3 
			 WestMidlands 3 2 2 5 3 3 3 5 5 2 4 
			 WestYorkshire 2 — 5 1 1 2 — — 1 2 1 
			 Wiltshire 2 — — — 3 3 — — 1 1 3 
			 Dyfed-Powys — 1 1 — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Gwent 1 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 NorthWales — 1 — — — 1 — — — — 1 
			 SouthWales 2 3 5 2 — 1 — 3 1 — 4 
			 Total 75 66 77 94 81 88 70 88 95 103 120 
			             
			 Pedal cyclist riding under the influence of drink or drugs            
			 AvonandSomerset 2 — 1 2 3 3 — — 1 — 1 
			 Bedfordshire — — — 2 — — — — — — — 
			 Cambridgeshire — — — — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Cheshire 2 — — — — — — — 1 — 3 
			 CityofLondon — — 1 — — 1 — 1 — 1 — 
			 Cleveland — — — — — 1 — 1 — 1 — 
			 Cumbria 1 1 1 1 2 1 — 3 1 1 1 
			 Derbyshire — 1 1 2 1 1 2 4 1 — 1 
			 DevonandCornwall 1 — 2 — — 1 1 — — — — 
			 Dorset — — 1 1 1 1 — — — — — 
			 Durham 3 1 1 — 1 2 — — 1 — — 
			 Essex 1 1 — 2 1 3 — — — — — 
			 Gloucestershire 1 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 GreaterManchester 6 8 7 2 1 — 2 — — 1 — 
			 Hampshire 2 2 4 3 2 3 1 — 1 1 3 
			 Hertfordshire — 2 1 2 8 1 1 — — 1 — 
			 Humberside — — 3 — 1 1 2 — 2 1 2 
			 Kent — 1 2 — — 2 — — — 1 — 
			 Lancashire — 2 — 2 1 1 1 — 1 2 1 
			 Leicestershire — — 1 — 1 — — 4 — 1 — 
			 Lincolnshire 1 — — — — 1 2 — — — — 
			 Merseyside 1 2 — 2 1 2 4 1 2 4 5 
			 MetropolitanPolice 1 2 4 4 3 5 2 4 2 4 2 
			 Norfolk 1 1 — 1 1 1 — 1 1 1 3 
			 NorthYorkshire 1 — — 1 — — — 1 2 — 1 
			 Northumbria 5 6 7 6 7 6 4 3 1 3 2 
			 Nottinghamshire 1 — — — 1 — — — — — 1 
			 SouthYorkshire 1 — 1 — — — 1 — — — 1 
			 Staffordshire 1 — — — — 2 — 1 — 1 — 
			 Suffolk — 1 2 1 — — 2 — — — — 
			 Surrey — — 2 — — — — — 1 — — 
			 Sussex — 1 1 1 2 2 — — 1 — — 
			 ThamesValley 2 2 1 — 1 — 1 — — — 1 
			 Warwickshire 2 — — — — 2 — 1 1 — — 
			 WestMercia 3 2 1 3 2 3 3 4 — 1 1 
			 WestMidlands — 1 1 1 3 2 7 1 1 1 1 
			 WestYorkshire — — — 1 1 1 1 2 — — — 
			 Wiltshire 1 1 1 — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1 — — 3 3 3 1 1 — — — 
			 Gwent 1 4 1 — 3 — — 1 — — — 
			 NorthWales 1 1 3 — — 2 — 1 — 2 — 
			 SouthWales 3 — 4 2 — — 1 2 — — — 
			 Total 46 44 55 45 51 55 40 37 21 28 30 
			             
		
	
	
		
			 Promoting unauthorised cycle race on public highway            
			 Merseyside — — — 1 2 2 — — — — — 
			 Total — — — 1 2 2 — — — — — 
			             
			 Use pedal cycle on an excluded road            
			 AvonandSomerset — — — — — 1 — — 1 — — 
			 Cambridgeshire — — — — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Cheshire — — — — — 1 1 — — 1 — 
			 Cleveland 1 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Durham — — — — — — — — 1 — — 
			 GreaterManchester 1 1 — — — — — — 2 — — 
			 Hertfordshire — — — — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Humberside — — — 1 — — — — — 2 — 
			 Lancashire 1 — — — — 1 — — — — — 
			 MetropolitanPolice — — — — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Northumbria — — — — — — — 2 — — — 
			 SouthYorkshire — — — — — 1 — — 1 — — 
			 WestMercia — 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 WestYorkshire — — — — — — — — — 1 — 
			 Total 3 2 — 1 — 7 1 2 5 4 — 
			             
			 Pedal cycle wilfully obstructing the highway            
			 Northamptonshire — — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 ThamesValley — — — — 1 — — — — — — 
			 WestMidlands — — — — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Total — — — — 1 — 1 1 — — — 
			             
			 Rider of cycle failing to give name and address when alleged to have been cycling recklessly, dangerously, carelessly or inconsiderately            
			 AvonandSomerset — — — 1 — — — — — — — 
			 Dorset 1 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Essex — — — — — — — — 1 — — 
			 GreaterManchester — — 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Hertfordshire 1 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Humberside — — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 MetropolitanPolice — 1 — 1 — — 2 1 — 1 — 
			 WestMercia — — — — — — 1 — — — — 
			 WestYorkshire — — — — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Total 2 1 1 2 — 1 3 2 1 1 — 
			             
			 Pedal cycle lighting and reflector offences (RVL Regs 1984)            
			 AvonandSomerset 5 2 1 1 1 2 11 17 11 9 10 
			 Bedfordshire — 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Cambridgeshire 1 1 — — 1 35 2 7 1 1 — 
			 Cheshire 5 7 — 3 2 — 1 — — — 1 
			 CityofLondon — — — 1 — — — 2 — 2 3 
			 Cleveland 2 7 1 2 2 — — 1 — — 4 
			 Cumbria 20 14 12 43 44 25 28 9 3 2 7 
			 Derbyshire — — — — 1 1 — — — 2 — 
			 DevonandCornwall — 4 1 1 2 1 5 — — — — 
			 Dorset — 3 — 2 1 1 — 17 5 1 3 
			 Durham — 3 1 — — 2 3 1 — — — 
			 Essex 3 2 — 1 3 — 2 4 — — — 
			 Gloucestershire — — — 1 — — — 1 10 3 5 
			 GreaterManchester 13 13 21 7 12 6 2 5 9 10 14 
		
	
	
		
			 Hampshire 24 21 14 8 15 19 3 4 7 2 5 
			 Hertfordshire 1 — — — 1 1 1 — — — — 
			 Humberside 32 23 22 9 11 2 8 10 19 31 21 
			 Kent 1 — 1 — — 1 — 1 1 — 3 
			 Lancashire 5 5 5 3 1 1 1 1 — 4 2 
			 Leicestershire — — — — — — — — 1 — — 
			 Lincolnshire 1 5 1 1 — 1 — — 3 — 1 
			 Merseyside 3 4 2 5 5 — 2 3 — 3 3 
			 MetropolitanPolice 2 — 1 4 8 5 8 1 3 4 7 
			 Norfolk 6 3 1 8 2 5 1 4 3 2 4 
			 NorthYorkshire 9 9 78 8 37 3 8 7 6 4 6 
			 Northamptonshire 4 — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Northumbria 15 25 29 34 42 75 55 23 27 32 31 
			 Nottinghamshire — 2 1 — — 1 3 1 — — — 
			 SouthYorkshire — 1 1 — 2 — 1 — — 2 2 
			 Staffordshire — 2 2 — 1 1 — — 1 — 3 
			 Suffolk 3 4 1 5 4 — 3 3 4 — 1 
			 Surrey — 1 — — — — — 1 1 1 — 
			 Sussex 2 — 1 — 1 1 — — — — — 
			 ThamesValley 1 — 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 — — 
			 Warwickshire — — — 6 — — — — — — — 
			 WestMercia 12 7 5 8 11 5 5 3 1 1 4 
			 WestMidlands 2 1 2 2 — 2 3 3 6 2 3 
			 WestYorkshire — — — — — — — — — — 1 
			 Wiltshire — 3 2 1 1 — — 4 — 1 — 
			 Dyfed-Powys 2 4 1 2 2 2 — — 1 — — 
			 Gwent 1 2 2 — — — — — 1 — — 
			 NorthWales — — 1 1 — 1 — — — 1 — 
			 SouthWales 4 1 2 6 — — 1 — — — — 
			 Total 179 180 213 175 215 201 158 135 125 120 144 
			             
			 Failing to stop pedal cycle when required by constable            
			 AvonandSomerset — — — — — — — — — 1 — 
			 Cambridgeshire — — — — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Cheshire — — — — — — — — — 1 — 
			 CityofLondon — — — — — 1 — — 4 3 — 
			 Cleveland — — — — — — 1 1 1 — — 
			 Cumbria 1 — — 1 1 1 1 — — 1 — 
			 Derbyshire — — — — — — — — 2 — — 
			 Durham — — — 4 2 1 1 — — — — 
			 Essex 6 — — — — — — — 1 — — 
			 Gloucestershire — — — — — — — — — — 1 
			 GreaterManchester — — — 2 — — 1 2 2 — — 
			 Hampshire 2 — — — — — — — 5 2 5 
			 Hertfordshire — — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Humberside 3 2 2 2 — — 1 — 3 1 1 
			 Kent — — — 1 — — — — 1 2 — 
			 Lancashire — — — — — 3 — — — — 1 
			 Leicestershire — — — 1 — — — — — 1 — 
			 Lincolnshire — — 3 — — — — — — — — 
			 Merseyside — — — — — — 3 4 — 1 — 
			 MetropolitanPolice — — 1 9 27 26 43 32 37 48 38 
			 Norfolk — — — 1 1 — — — — — 2 
			 NorthYorkshire — — — 1 — — — — — — — 
			 Northumbria — 1 — 1 2 — 4 2 — — — 
			 Nottinghamshire 1 — — — — 1 2 — — 1 — 
			 SouthYorkshire — — — — 1 — — — — — — 
			 Staffordshire — — — — 1 — — — — — — 
			 Suffolk — — — — — — 1 1 — — — 
			 Surrey — — — — — — — — 1 1 2 
			 Sussex — — — — — — 1 — — 1 1 
		
	
	
		
			 ThamesValley — 1 — 1 — 1 — 1 — — — 
			 Warwickshire 1 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 WestMercia 2 1 — — 1 — — — — — — 
			 WestMidlands — — — — — — 1 1 — — 2 
			 WestYorkshire — — 1 — — — — — — 1 1 
			 Wiltshire 1 — — — — 1 — 1 1 — — 
			 Gwent — — — — — — — — 1 — — 
			 SouthWales — — 1 26 — — — — 1 — — 
			 Total 17 5 8 50 36 35 61 46 60 65 54 
			 (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Roads: Accidents

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what steps he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to provide face-to-face support to those who are bereaved or seriously injured in road accidents;
	(2)  how much funding he allocated to support victims of (a) burglary and (b) road accidents in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  what assessment his Department has made of the recommendations by Brake on support for road crash victims.

Crispin Blunt: In each of the three years 2011-12 to 2013-14 the Ministry of Justice has allocated £125,000 to support victims of burglary and £277,606 to support those bereaved or injured by road traffic offending.
	The funding in relation to road traffic offending goes to four organisations: the Road Victims Trust, Aftermath, Brake and Roadpeace. All except Brake provide face-to-face support.
	Any victim of crime is also eligible to receive support from Victim Support which receives £38 million a year in grant funding from the Ministry of Justice.
	In its response to the consultation ‘Getting it Right for Victims and Witnesses’ the Government committed to doing more for victims of road traffic offending and we will work with interested parties to identify and examine the options for doing so. The Government do not consider it feasible to extend coverage broadly to anyone bereaved through a road traffic accident or seriously injured by one.

Young Offenders

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of young offenders given a community sentence have (a) breached that order and (b) received a custodial sentence as a result in each month of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: With regard to young adult offenders aged 18 to 20, the information on the proportion of offenders who breached their community sentence is not held centrally. Information on breaches of community sentences by individual offenders is recorded by probation trusts on their case management systems. It is used in the day-to-day management of offenders, including as a trigger to appropriate action in response to breach, for example through formal warnings or enforcement action, but the figures requested do not form part of trusts' routine reporting.
	Information is available for 2007 and 2008 on the number of 18 to 20-year-olds who were received into custody for breach of a community sentence, as follows:
	2007: 886(1)
	2008: 964(2)
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	(1)Source:
	Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2007. Table 6.12
	(2)Source:
	Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2008. Table 6.9
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100406130654/justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonandprobation.htm
	Since the roll-out of the Prison-NOMIS system commenced in May 2009 information on receptions into custody for breach has no longer been available.
	The available information required to answer this question in relation to juveniles is currently being collated. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available. A copy will be placed in the House Library.

EDUCATION

Free School Meals: Further Education

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the contribution of the Minister of State for Schools of 13 June 2012, Official Report, column 94WH, on free school meals (colleges), how his Department estimated the cost of extending the provision of free meals to disadvantaged 16 to 18 year olds who study at further education or sixth form colleges.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 6 July 2012
	In my answer of 13 June 2012, Official Report, column 94WH, I quoted a figure of between £35 million and £70 million as the cost of extending the provision of free meals to disadvantaged 16 to 18-year-olds who study at further education or sixth form colleges.
	In his letter to the Secretary of State for Education dated 13 April, Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC), applied a figure of £32 million as the cost of extending free meals to eligible students in FE and sixth form colleges. The AoC 'No Free Lunch?' campaign quotes a figure of £38 million.
	Departmental estimates are based on a number of factors, including the current cost of providing free meals to school sixth form students, which would give an upper cost threshold of £70 million. For the purposes of the debate, my estimate assumed that the actual cost of extending free meals would fall between the AoC figures and the higher cost of £70 million. I did not give a precise departmental estimate because the cost is reliant on a number of assumptions which need to be tested further.
	The factors which are likely to contribute to the actual departmental estimate are the costs of providing school meals; the number of 16 to 18-year-old students who were known to be eligible for free school meals at age 15; and the proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds in school sixth forms relative to those in further education and training.
	We are continuing to determine the best factors on which to base our assumptions.

DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on training individuals to handle and fly the CATOBAR aircraft since its introduction.

Peter Luff: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 April 2012, Official Report, column 1123W. I will write to the right hon. Member once the costs associated with this training have been collated.
	Substantive answer from Peter Luff to Jim Murphy:
	In my answer to your questions related to the costs of our training individuals to handle and fly-Catapult Assisted Take Off Barrier Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR) aircraft (Official Record 23 April 2012 : Column 716W) I said that I would update you on this issue.
	To clarify the position on those personnel training with the US Navy as of July 2012 we now have nine Royal Navy pilots at various stages of training with US Navy carrier borne aircraft. This training does include the use of catapult and arrestor gear, but I should make clear that this is a small element of the wider carrier strike training and interoperability package being undertaken with the US Navy.
	As part of the training programme for the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers, there remains a requirement for the Royal Navy to train a cadre of suitably qualified and experienced personnel who will supervise embarked carrier aviation in the future, and this training with the US helps to fulfil this requirement.
	The Royal Air Force also has a long-standing reciprocal Pilot Exchange Programme and there are currently two Royal Air Force pilots flying US aircraft under this arrangement, which attracts minimal additional cost.
	The requirement for, and continuation of, such training will see Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel gain experience of frontline carrier capability in its widest sense, and the incorporation of US Navy training courses. The current training programme is focused on development of a UK understanding of large carrier Flight
	As part of this process, a UK/US Statement of Intent on Carrier Co-operation and Maritime Power Projection was jointly signed by the Secretary of State for Defence and the US Defence Secretary on 5 January 2012.
	I hope you will understand that, given the scope of this training, we continue to discuss the associated costs with the US authorities. When we have collated this information, I will consider its release.

Armed Forces: Pay

Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 4 July 2012, Official Report, columns 678-9W, on armed forces: pay, what the nature is of the future payments; and whether they are adjusted to claim back salaries automatically paid to service personnel in respect of the period after their death and before the month end.

Andrew Robathan: Future payments relate to any additional sum due to a deceased serviceman or woman that would normally be paid with salary. These can occur where there is a backdated increase in the individual's salary, introduction of a new allowance, or increase in the rate at which an allowance is paid that includes a period before the death of an individual.
	We never ask families of those killed in service to pay money back; reconciliation of the individual's pay account is made as soon as all the information is available to us. Adjustments of future payments are made to ensure families are paid all moneys to which they are entitled.

Armed Forces: Vaccination

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what vaccinations and inoculations are administered to armed forces personnel (a) on entry to the services and (b) on a routine basis throughout a person's service career.

Andrew Robathan: It is Ministry of Defence policy that all entitled service personnel are recommended to be immunised in accordance with National Immunisation policy. The following list details routine vaccination requirements on entry to the armed forces:
	Hepatitis A + B (as single antigen or combined vaccines)
	Human papillomavirus
	Low-dose diphtheria/Tetanus/Inactivated Polio (Td/IPV)
	Meningococcal (serogroup C disease)
	Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)
	Typhoid
	Tuberculosis
	Varicella
	Yellow fever
	Service personnel are routinely kept in date for the following vaccines throughout their career: Diphtheria, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Poliomyelitis, Tetanus, Tuberculosis, Typhoid and Yellow fever.

Armed Forces: Vaccination

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases of severe adverse reaction due to administration of vaccinations and inoculations leading to (a) the death of service personnel and (b) disablement causing medical discharge from the services have occurred in each of the last five years.

Andrew Robathan: Between 2007 and 2011, the latest date for which data are available, there have been no reported UK Regular armed forces personnel deaths, including reservists deployed on operations overseas, caused by severe adverse reaction due to administration of vaccinations and inoculations.
	Between financial years 2006-07 and 2010-11, no UK Regular Royal Navy Service personnel were medically discharged due to a severe adverse reaction due to administration of vaccinations and inoculations. Fewer than five UK Regular Army personnel and fewer than five Regular Royal Air Force personnel were medically discharged with severe adverse reaction due to administration of vaccinations and inoculations, but only as a contributory factor and not as a primary factor.
	Data for medical discharges in the UK Regular armed forces for 2011-12 will be published on 12 July 2012 and will be available on the following website:
	www.dasa.mod.uk

Armed Forces: Vaccination

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what medical advice the Armed Forces has received from expert bodies on the simultaneous administration of multiple vaccinations, inoculations and biological and chemical pre-treatments (a) prior to Operation Granby and (b) most recently.

Andrew Robathan: Simultaneous administration of multiple vaccinations, inoculations and biological and chemical pre-treatments prior to Operation Granby was given in accordance with the Department of Health's (DH) ‘Green Book’.
	In 2006, the MOD announced that final scientific papers relating to its Vaccines Interactions Research Programme had been published. These looked at the possible adverse health effects of the combination of vaccines and tablets given to troops to protect them against the threat of biological and chemical warfare. The overwhelming evidence from the programme is that the combination of vaccines and tablets that were offered to UK forces at the time of the 1990-91 Gulf conflict would not have had adverse health effects. The scientific papers concerning the above research programme can be found on the following MOD web page:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/WhatWeDo/HealthandSafety/GulfVeteransIllnesses/VaccinesInteractionsResearchProgramme.htm
	More recently, we have not approached any expert bodies for medical advice on the simultaneous administration of multiple vaccinations as vaccinations are administered in accordance with the extant version of the DH ‘Green Book’. This core document is continuously updated and is available on the DH website at:
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_079917

Armed Forces: Vaccination

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what vaccinations, inoculations and biological and chemical pre-treatments are administered to armed forces personnel prior to deployment to Afghanistan; and what such treatments were routinely administered prior to 2012.

Andrew Robathan: In addition to the vaccinations routinely provided to all personnel on entry and throughout their service career, personnel deployed to Afghanistan are offered vaccination against anthrax and seasonal influenza, and anti-malarial chemoprophylaxis in the form of Chloroquine and Proguanil. Rabies vaccination is also offered to occupational at-risk groups, namely dog handlers and those personnel likely to be assigned to dog handling duties, as well as veterinarians and their support staff. No biological or chemical pre-treatments are indicated prior to deployment to Afghanistan.
	The only change to the treatments offered to deployed personnel since the start of Op Herrick has been the addition of routine vaccination against seasonal influenza.

Army

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving Army personnel at the time of their recruitment were citizens of (a) the UK, (b) the Irish Republic and (c) other countries.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 10 July 2012
	Information on how many serving Army personnel, at the time of their recruitment, were citizens of the UK, the Irish Republic and other countries is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, the following table shows the nationality of those recruited to the Regular Army as either officers or soldiers, since 2007-08, if this information was declared on the Joint Personnel Administration system:
	
		
			 Financial year UK Irish Republic Other countries Not known Total 
			 2007-08 8,160 30 1,300 3,960 13,450 
			 2008-09 9,870 30 1,490 2,370 13,760 
			 2009-10 11,140 80 1,010 1,360 13,580 
			 2010-11 7,510 70 540 580 8,700 
			 2011-12 9,950 90 810 220 11,070 
		
	
	In addition, the nationality of Regular Army personnel, officers and soldiers, currently serving as at 1 May 2012 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Nationality Trained Untrained 
			 UK 86,890 9,300 
			 Irish Republic 340 70 
			 Other countries 10,350 700 
			 Not known 10 10 
		
	
	Figures do not include those serving in the full-time reserve service.
	All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Army

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving Army personnel lived at the time of their recruitment in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland, (e) the Irish Republic and (f) elsewhere.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 10 July 2012
	Information on where serving Army personnel were living at the time of their recruitment is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the following table shows the country that recruits joining the Army from 2007 to date, have declared as their main contact address during the recruitment and selection process:
	
		
			  2012-13 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 
			 Scotland 261 618 528 664 464 443 
			 England 2,538 4,475 3,102 4,329 3,683 4,129 
			 Wales 241 493 320 626 660 531 
			 Northern Ireland 113 182 161 213 244 231 
			 Republic of Ireland 53 101 82 103 43 28 
			 Elsewhere 226 259 223 332 761 540 
			 Great Britain 4 9 2 10 5 2 
			 Not known 2,247 4,753 4,059 7,203 7,670 7,316 
			  5,683 10,890 8,530 13,400 13,530 13,220 
		
	
	Where recruits have not completed the 'country' address field on their applications, the country is shown as not known; this may be because the information has been entered in the wrong address field or, as frequently occurs with recruits from the UK, they do not complete the 'country' field.

Electronic Warfare

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he had with (a) ministerial colleagues and (b) external organisations prior to the publication of the draft Energy Bill on the provision of security systems to protect against cyber attack on the Government Pipeline and Storage Systems.

Peter Luff: Officials at the Oil and Pipeline Agency (OPA), which manages the Government Pipeline and Storage Systems (GPSS) on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, regularly discuss with appropriate external organisations measures to best protect the GPSS, including from the risk of cyber attack now and in the future. Concerns are raised to the appropriate level as necessary.
	To date, Ministers have had no requirement to discuss security systems to protect the GPSS against cyber attack.

Iraq-Kuwait Conflict

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what vaccinations, inoculations and other biological and chemical pre-treatments were administered to Armed Forces personnel prior to deployment on Operation Granby.

Andrew Robathan: The information requested is available in the Ministry of Defence published paper entitled: “Background to the use of Medical Countermeasures to protect British Forces during the Gulf War (Operation Granby)”. This paper discussed the background to the use of medical countermeasures not only in terms of the scientific issues involved, but also of procurement and other matters which were raised by Gulf veterans.
	The paper is available on the MOD website at:
	http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/86D81B65-F0B0-46E4-8BCC-50DD4F1FF584/0/Oct97MedicalCountermeasurepaper1.pdf
	and is available in the Library of the House.

Nuclear Weapons

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department considers to be a minimum credible nuclear deterrent.

Philip Hammond: The Strategic Defence and Security Review published in October 2010 concluded that we can meet the minimum requirement of an effective and credible level of deterrence with a reduced nuclear weapons capability. We therefore decided to cut the maximum number of warheads deployed on each deployed submarine from 48 to 40, and to reduce the number of operational missiles on each submarine to no more than eight.

Nuclear Weapons

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the UK's need to maintain a nuclear deterrent.

Philip Hammond: Our current analysis is that we cannot rule out the risk either that a major direct nuclear threat to the UK's vital interests will re-emerge or that new states will emerge that possess a more limited nuclear capability but nevertheless one that could pose a grave threat to our vital interests. We therefore see an enduring role for the UK's nuclear forces as an essential part of our national security capability.

The Rifles Regiment

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has any plans to reduce the size of The Rifles regiment.

Philip Hammond: Further to my announcement to the House on 5 July 2012, Official Report, column 1087-88, I can confirm that there are no current plans to change the size of The Rifles regiment.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Electricity: Meters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many external consultants his Department engaged to work on smart meter roll-out in April (a) 2011 and (b) 2012.

Charles Hendry: None. There are industry and technical experts working on the smart meter roll-out in delivery roles, but none in a consulting capacity.

Energy

Phillip Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of counterparty risks in the draft Energy Bill's multiparty contract model; and whether he plans to make further assessments of the single counterparty model.

Charles Hendry: In developing the Contracts for Difference payment model set out in the draft Energy Bill and draft Operational Framework in May 2012, we have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders to assess any risks associated with the proposed model. We have also considered external legal advice.
	While I still believe that the proposed model is workable, I recognise the concerns that have been raised by industry. For that reason, I have been assessing the viability of alternative models, including those based on a single counter-party.
	I await the outcome of the Energy and Climate Change Committee's pre-legislative scrutiny before making a decision on whether to make any changes in the Bill.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs that will be created in the UK as a result of the Norway-UK energy partnership for sustainable growth.

Charles Hendry: During a visit to Oslo on 6-7 June, the Prime Minister announced a UK-Norway energy partnership and billions of pounds of new investment by UK and Norwegian companies. The announcement can be found at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn12_072/pn12_072.aspx
	These investments have the potential to create thousands of jobs in the UK. Details include:
	Statoil's further £12 billion investment developing Mariner-Bressay North Sea oil fields will create 800 to 1,000 new jobs, including 200 to 300 jobs at a new operations centre in Aberdeen;
	Aker Solutions creating 1,300 jobs in London.
	Forewind Consortium's development of Dogger Bank offshore wind farm could create many thousands of jobs.

Energy: Meters

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the relative costs for installing the available smart meter solutions.

Charles Hendry: In April 2012 DECC published updated impact assessments for the roll-out of smart meters in the domestic and non-domestic sectors. These estimate total costs of £11.5 billion and total benefits of £18.6 million, giving a net benefit of £7.2 billion. The impact assessments estimate that the total cost of installing smart meters will amount to £1.7 billion.

Energy: Meters

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the relative equipment and support costs for the available smart meter solutions.

Charles Hendry: In April 2012 DECC published updated impact assessments for the roll-out of smart meters in the domestic and non-domestic sectors. These estimate total costs of £11.5 billion and total benefits of £18.6 million, giving a net benefit of £7.2 billion. Of the total costs outlined in the impact assessments, equipment costs are estimated at £5.3 billion, which includes smart electricity meters, smart gas meters, In-Home Displays and in-premise communications equipment. Overall, considering both costs and cost savings to energy suppliers and energy savings by consumers, we expect the roll-out to reduce the average, annual gas and electricity bill by £25 by 2020.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department has spent on the Check, Switch, Insulate to Save campaign since October 2012.

Gregory Barker: Excluding staff costs, the Department of Energy and Climate Change has spent just over £1,000 on banners and web work/design for the Check, Switch, Insulate to Save campaign since October 2011.
	The Department developed joint messaging with partners using shared language in the lead up to Big Energy Week.

Fuel Poverty

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the Hills Fuel Poverty Review published in March 2012, when he plans to announce a new measure of fuel poverty.

Gregory Barker: We intend to publish a consultation on a future definition of fuel poverty in September and to adopt a new approach to fuel poverty measurement after it has been completed.

Fuel Poverty

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect on levels of fuel poverty of recent increases in domestic energy tariffs.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change published its latest annual, fuel poverty statistics in May 2012. This report projected 3.9 million households to be in fuel poverty in 2012 in England, an increase of 0.4 million households from 2010 levels (the latest year for which actual data are available).
	It is not possible to isolate the effect of tariff changes (either increases or, as seen in the first quarter of 2012 compared with the previous quarter, decreases) on projected fuel poverty levels in 2012. This is because there are many factors that determine whether a household is in fuel poverty or not, and these factors are not independent of each other.

Fuels

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what the terms of reference are for his Department's work on the resilience of the UK's petrol and diesel supplies; when this work will be completed; and whether it will be made public;
	(2)  how much his Department has spent on studying the resilience of the UK's petrol and diesel supplies.

Charles Hendry: Since the financial year 2010-11, the Department has currently spent £150,000 on reports to study the resilience of the UK's petrol and diesel supplies.
	DECC has published a number of assessments on the resilience the downstream oil industry:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/en_security/downstream_oil/improving/improving.aspx
	These reports include the terms of reference for these studies.
	Further work is under way with industry to develop a strategic framework for the UK refining industry; this work is expected to report later this year in the autumn. This is the first strategic review undertaken in the past decade.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what selection criteria were used by his Department when allocating the £200 million of funding pledged by his Department to incentivise take-up of the Green Deal.

Gregory Barker: The principal use of the £200 million funding is expected to be an incentive payment scheme which will reward households that take early action to have energy efficiency measures installed through the Green Deal.
	Further details on the scheme, including eligibility criteria, will be announced later in the year.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which (a) individuals, (b) companies, (c) organisations and (d) local authorities have received funding from the £200 million pledged by his Department to incentivise take-up of the Green Deal; and how much funding each such individual and organisation received.

Gregory Barker: No individuals, companies, organisations or local authorities have received funding from this £200 million Green Deal take-up fund.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether any of the £200 million funding pledged by his Department to incentivise take-up of the Green Deal was allocated as part of the Government's City Deals; and whether any conditions were attached as part of these allocations.

Gregory Barker: The Department is considering options for awarding money as part of the City Deals process. No funds have been allocated, and any conditions that may be attached to such an allocation are currently under consideration.

Manchester Declaration

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent contribution his Department and its non-departmental bodies and agencies have made to implementation of the 2005 Manchester Declaration.

Charles Hendry: None.

Warm Front Scheme: Coventry

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in (a) Coventry and (b) Coventry North East constituency received assistance from the Warm Front scheme in each of the last five years.

Gregory Barker: The number of households assisted in (a) Coventry and (b) Coventry North East constituency in each of the last five years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13(1) Total 
			 Coventry local authority 2,070 1,687 649 275 60 7,291 
			 Coventry North East constituency 886 723 317 133 23 2,960 
			 (1) Figures up to 30 June 2012

WORK AND PENSIONS

Housing Benefit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people under the age of 25 years are in receipt of housing benefit in each parliamentary constituency.

Steve Webb: Information on how many people aged under 25 years are in receipt of housing benefit by parliamentary constituency is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Housing Benefit: Greater London

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information his Department holds on the number of private sector tenants in receipt of housing benefit who have been relocated from each London borough in the first three months of 2012-13.

Steve Webb: The Department has commissioned a consortium of academics and research organisations led by Ian Cole, professor of housing studies at Sheffield Hallam University to undertake an independent review of the impact of changes to the local housing allowance system of housing benefit.
	The research will include a spatial analysis of the effects of the changes that will examine movement from one local authority to another.
	The Department published a report of early findings on 14 June and a copy of the report has been deposited in the House Library.

Housing Benefit: Greater London

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what funding of transitional benefit to recipients of housing benefit was paid by each London borough in the first three months of 2012-13; and what funding will be available for the remainder of the year.

Steve Webb: Transitional funding for the housing benefit reforms for the financial year 2012-13 was allocated to local authorities earlier this year. These funds are intended to be used to provide targeted support to help meet the housing needs of claimants affected by the housing benefit reforms. Examples of this could include additional support with homelessness prevention, negotiating with landlords, money advice and supporting people who need to move. It is for local authorities to decide how the funding will be spent and we do not monitor this expenditure on a month by month basis.
	Allocations of transitional funding for each London borough for the financial year 2012-13 can be found at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/S1-2012.pdf

Jobseeker's Allowance: Young People

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many 18 to 24 year olds in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) region claimed jobseeker's allowance for 12 months or more in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many 18 to 24 year olds in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) region claimed jobseeker's allowance for 12 months or more in the latest period for which figures are available. (116258)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles the number of claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system.
	Table 1, shows the number of 18 to 24 years who had been claiming Jobseeker's Allowance for over 52 weeks in each Region and Parliamentary Constituency in May 2012. As the information requested is quite extensive, a copy has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk.

Personal Independence Payment

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to announce the providers that will carry out the new personal independence payment assessment.

Maria Miller: The Department for Work and Pensions tendered for a framework of providers to deliver future health and disability assessments earlier this year. A competition among framework providers for the personal independence payment assessment has recently been completed. The bids have now been evaluated and we are in the process of internal governance. We aim to announce successful providers by the end of July.

Poverty: Young People

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people under the age of 18 were living below the poverty line in the UK in each of the last five years; and what steps he is taking to tackle the problem of youth poverty.

Maria Miller: The Child Poverty Act 2010 sets four income-based UK-wide targets to be met by 2020. The targets are based on the proportion of children living in households with relative low income, absolute low income, combined low income and material deprivation and persistent poverty, all before housing costs have been taken into account.
	Estimates of the number and proportion of children living in households with relative low income, absolute low income and combined low income and material deprivation are published in the “Households Below Average Income” (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living. The datasets that underlie the HBAI series can be used to estimate the proportion of people under the age of 18 in poverty by these measures.
	
		
			 Proportion of people under the age of 18 in relative low income, absolute low income and combined low income and material deprivation, before housing costs, in the UK 2006/07-2010/11 
			 Percentage 
			  Relative low income Absolute low income Combined low income and material deprivation(1) 
			 2006/07 22 13 16 
			 2007/08 23 14 17 
			 2008/09 22 13 17 
			 2009/10 20 11 16 
			 2010/11 18 11 14 
			 (1) Proportion of dependent children (see Note 6) 
		
	
	The Government published their first strategy to tackle child poverty in April 2011. The strategy draws together the Government's radical programme of welfare and education reform. It underpins the Government's ambition for every child to realise their potential and reflects its belief that reducing poverty is about more than lifting families' incomes above an arbitrary line. It demonstrates that the Government are making a sustained, long-term attempt to lift people out of not only income poverty, but poverty of aspiration and poverty of outcomes. The child poverty strategy sets out how the Government will tackle the root causes of poverty such as worklessness, educational failure, debt, poor health and family breakdown, thereby raising the life chances of poorer children and breaking the cycle of entrenched intergenerational poverty.
	It is particularly important that during this time of economic difficulty we ensure that a generation of young people is not left behind. The Government are making £126 million of new money available as part of the Youth Contract to give teenagers opportunities to train, work and get their lives on track. Under this Government, apprenticeship starts have increased at a record rate, with growth across all age ranges, in all sectors and throughout the country. In 2010/11, there were 131,700 apprenticeship starts for 16-18 year-olds—an increase of 12.8% on 2009/10.
	Notes:
	1. These statistics are based on households below average income (HBAI) data sourced from the 2010/11 Family Resources survey (FRS). This uses disposable household income, adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living and is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbai_arc
	2. These figures have been presented on a before housing costs basis. That means housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, buildings insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income.
	3. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to a degree of uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response.
	4. The reference period for HBAI figures is the financial year.
	5. Proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.
	6. Based on the FRS data, it is not possible to calculate material deprivation for all people under the age of 18 so the proportion of dependent children experiencing combined low income and material deprivation is provided. A dependent child is defined as an individual aged under 16. A person will also be defined as a child if they are 16 to 19 years old and they are: not married nor in a civil partnership nor living with a partner; living with parents; in full-time non-advanced education or in unwaged government training.
	7. The measures in the Child Poverty Act 2010 are defined as:
	Relative poverty: children living in households with equivalised incomes below 60% of contemporary median household income.
	Absolute poverty: children living in households with equivalised incomes below 60% of 1998/99 median household income held constant in real terms.
	Low income and material deprivation: percentage of children living in households in material deprivation and with less than 70% of contemporary median household income.
	Persistent poverty: children living in households who have had equivalised incomes below 60% of median household income for at least three out of the last four years.
	8. In the past, persistent poverty measurement has been based on the British Household Panel survey, which has now been subsumed into the much larger Understanding Society survey. There is no publication for 2009 as there is a gap in the data as the respondents are moved into the understanding society sample. This means the last data covers the period 2005-08 and has not been reported here.

Universal Credit

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether families with disabled children will be involved in monitoring and evaluating universal credit once it is rolled out nationally.

Maria Miller: The Department is currently developing the overall strategy for the evaluation and monitoring of universal credit. No detailed plans are yet available. However, monitoring and evaluation will involve capturing the views of representative samples of different groups of claimants such as families with disabled children. Survey data, qualitative research and feedback from stakeholder groups will be used to assess the effects for different groups of claimants. In conducting research on universal credit, the Department will draw on the guidance “Involving disabled people in social research” published in August 2011 by the Office for Disability Issues.

Universal Credit

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by what means his Department will monitor and evaluate the effect of the universal credit on families with disabled children.

Maria Miller: The Department is currently developing the overall strategy for the evaluation and monitoring of universal credit. No detailed plans are yet available. However, we are committed to monitoring the effects of the policy in aggregate and in terms of the outcomes for different groups of claimants, including families with disabled children. To understand the experiences and outcomes of claimants, the Department will employ a wide range of different research methods, survey techniques and sources including evidence from regular surveys.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Protection of Freedoms

Kate Green: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities 
	(1)  with reference to Chapter 4 in Part 5 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, what steps she plans to take to enable individuals to apply to have relevant offences disregarded;
	(2)  when she expects to implement the provisions on erasing historic convictions for consensual homosexual sex in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: The Home Office is leading work, in consultation with other Government Departments, Agencies and relevant stakeholders, to develop and implement an application process to enable individuals to apply to have any convictions, cautions, warnings or reprimands that meet the criteria as set out in Part 5 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, disregarded. The application process will be implemented later this year. Further details will be available on the Home Office website.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education: Blackpool

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many residents of Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency completed a course at an adult education college in each of the last five years.

John Hayes: Table 1 shows Government-funded further education and skills learner achievements in general further education colleges in Blackpool North and Cleveleys parliamentary constituency by age, for academic years 2006/07 to 2010/11, the latest full years for which final data are available.
	
		
			 Table 1: General further education colleges learner achievement by geography and age, 2006/07 to 2010/11 
			  Age 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 
			 Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency Under 19 780 890 970 960 1,060 
			  19+ 1,560 1,310 1,840 1,870 1,710 
			  Total 2,340 2,200 2,800 2,830 2,770 
			        
			 England Under 19 457,610 489,320 521,120 546,780 558,360 
			  19+ 1,089,100 1,060,260 1,221,600 1,187,170 975,860 
			  Total 1,541,700 1,549,600 1,742,700 1,734,000 1,534,200 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 except for the England totals which are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Geography is based upon the home postcode of the learner. Geographic information is based on boundaries of regions as of May 2010. The England totals include some postcodes which are not known. 3. These data include both young people (under 19) and adults (aged 19+) achieving in apprenticeships, workplace learning, community learning and education and training provision taken at general further education colleges (including tertiary) only. 4. Age is based on age at the start of the academic year. Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Information on further education and skills achievement by geography is published in a supplementary table of a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 28 June 2012:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_supplementary_tables/

Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many young people started a level (a) 2 and (b) 3 apprenticeship programme in construction at the age of (i) 16, (ii) 17 and (iii) 18 in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how many people completed level (a) 2 and (b) 3 apprenticeship programmes in construction at the age of (i) under 19, (ii) 19 to 24 and (iii) 25 in each of the last three years.

John Hayes: Table 1 gives the number of apprenticeship programme starts in the "Construction, Planning and Built Environment" sector subject area by level and age for 2008/09 to 2010/11, the latest years for which final data are available. Table 2 gives the equivalent information for apprenticeship achievements.
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts in the construction, planning and built environment sector subject area by age and level, 2008/09 to 2010/11 
			  Intermediate (level 2) Advanced (level 3) 
			 Age 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 
			 16 4,790 3,680 3,690 1,380 890 1,060 
			 17 4,430 4,140 3,730 1,370 1,120 1,100 
			 18 2,860 2,840 2,940 3,490 3,000 3,270 
			 Under 19 12,080 10,660 10,360 6,230 5,000 5,420 
			 19-24 3,850 3,410 4,100 5,080 4,790 5,200 
			 25+ 960 690 1,650 1,020 670 1,360 
			 Total 16,890 14,760 16,110 12,330 10,450 11,980 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Age is calculated based on age at start of the programme. 3. Figures include some apprentices aged under 16. Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Apprenticeship framework achievements in the construction, planning and the built environment sector subject area by age and level, 2008/09 to 2010/11 
			  Intermediate (level 2) Advanced (level 3) 
			 Age 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 
			 16 3,910 3,300 2,280 1,020 1,220 1,120 
			 17 3,860 2,960 2,300 990 1,020 980 
			 18 2,360 1,960 1,710 2,560 2,750 2,610 
			 Under 19 10,130 8,220 6,290 4,570 4,990 4,710 
			 19-24 3,240 2,640 2,350 3,940 4,100 4,010 
			 25+ 300 480 480 150 400 560 
			 Total 13,680 11,340 9,110 8,650 9,490 9,280 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Age is calculated based on age at start of the programme. 3. Figures include some apprentices under 16. Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Further breakdowns of the number of apprenticeship starts and achievements are published in supplementary table to the quarterly Post 16 Further Education and Skills Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 28 June 2012:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_supplementary_tables/Apprenticeship_sfr_supplementary_tables/

Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of apprentices who completed a Level 2 programme in construction before their 19th birthday progressed to start a Level 3 construction programme in each of the last three years.

John Hayes: Table 1 gives the following information for the “Construction, Planning and Built Environment” sector subject area:
	(i) the number of apprentices who successfully completed a Level 2 apprenticeship in the 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11 academic years while they were aged 18 or under; and
	(ii) the number and proportion of these apprentices who then progressed to start a Level 3 apprenticeship. The figures on Level 3 apprenticeship starts relate to any ages and include provisional data for the 2011/12 academic year. Provisional data will change as further data returns are received from further education colleges and providers. Provisional data for 2011/12 data will be finalised in January 2013.
	
		
			 Table 1: Progression from a Level 2 to a Level 3 Apprenticeship in the construction, planning and the built environment sector subject area, 2008/09 to 2010/11 
			  2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 
			 Number successfully completing a Level 2 Apprenticeship while aged 18 and under 5,730 4,820 3,570 
			 Of which progressed to Level 3 Apprenticeship (number) 2,500 2,180 1,690 
			 Of which progressed to Level 3 Apprenticeship (proportion) 44 45 47 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Age of the learner is based on age at completion of Level 2 Apprenticeship. Apprenticeship achievements by age are usually based on age at the start of the programme, so these figures will not match other published counts of achievements. 3. Years are based on completion date of the Level 2 Apprenticeship. The Level 3 Apprenticeship could have started in any year, including the first nine months of the 2011/12 academic year. 2011/12 data Is provisional and will be revised. Provisional data for 2011/12 data will be finalised in January 2013. Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Further breakdowns of the number of apprenticeship starts and achievements are published in supplementary table to the quarterly Post 16 Education Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 28 June 2012:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_supplementary_tables/Apprenticeship_sfr_supplementary_tables/

Directors: Disqualification

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the Insolvency Service spent on printing hard copies of D1 reports concerning the conduct of directors as required under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 in each year since 2002.

Norman Lamb: The Insolvency Service does not maintain a separate record of the cost of printing D1s. The cost of printing D1s is subsumed into the overheads for the Insolvency Service.

Directors: Disqualification

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the Insolvency Service has spent on couriers to send D1 reports in each year since 2002.

Norman Lamb: The Insolvency Service does not maintain a separate record of the costs resulting from using couriers to send D1 reports. The cost of using couriers is subsumed into the overheads for the Insolvency Service.

Departmental Pay

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the lowest hourly rate is paid to staff by his Department; how many members of staff based outside London are paid less than £7.20 per hour; and how many members of staff based in London are paid less than £8.30 per hour.

Norman Lamb: The lowest hourly rate paid to a member of staff in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is £8.01.
	Staff based outside London paid less than £7.20: Nil
	Staff based inside London paid less than £8.30: Nil

Retail Trade: Newspaper Press

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the evidence considered by the Office of Fair Trading in determining not to make a referral to the Competition Commission of the newspaper and magazine wholesale distribution sector;
	(2)  if he will consider using his powers under section 132 of the Enterprise Act 2002 to refer the newspaper and magazine industry to the Competition Commission for a full market investigation.

Edward Vaizey: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
	The Office of Fair Trading, as the appropriate independent body, is currently actively discussing the matter with the distribution chain. It would therefore be inappropriate for the Department to intervene.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The Sahel

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in the Sahel.

Stephen O'Brien: 18 million people across the Sahel remain at risk of food shortages. I visited Niger and Senegal in late June to assess the humanitarian situation in the Sahel for myself. The UK Government have responded swiftly and is providing lifesaving aid to 1.6 million people across the region.

UN Arms Trade Treaty

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and for Defence on the implications for his Department of the UN arms trade treaty.

Alan Duncan: All Departments across Whitehall are united in wanting to see an effective arms trade treaty. Negotiations are taking place this month in New York. The UK will do its utmost to secure a successful outcome.

Diarrhoeal Disease

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to tackle diarrhoeal disease in developing countries.

Stephen O'Brien: In April we doubled our commitment on water, sanitation and hygiene to provide 60 million people with services that prevent diarrhoeal disease. Through the GAVI Alliance we are vaccinating 50 million children against rotavirus, which is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea.

Bilateral Aid Review

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress his Department has made on its objectives for water and sanitation set out in the bilateral aid review.

Stephen O'Brien: As stated in DFID's new annual report, the UK has given 2 million people access to clean drinking water, 2 million people improved access to sanitation and 7.4 million people improved hygiene since 2010. The right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) was candid in 2007 when he admitted that the previous government had 'taken their eye off the ball' in relation to water and sanitation. The coalition will not make the same mistake. In April we announced our intention to double results by reaching 60 million people. We are seeking to match one person in the poor world without access to water and sanitation to every person living in the UK.

Development Aid: Legislation

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the Prime Minister and other Ministerial colleagues on enshrining in law spending on international development equal to 0.7% national income.

Andrew Mitchell: I am in regular discussions with my colleagues on the coalition's Government's development priorities, including enshrining the 0.7% commitment into law.

Aid Effectiveness

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what arrangements his Department has put in place to monitor the effectiveness of UK aid to the Palestinian Authority and the UN Relief and Works Agency.

Alan Duncan: Our agreements with the PA and UNRWA specify a number of results milestones against which progress is reviewed annually. This is designed to improve effectiveness and value for money. This year, UK aid will provide primary education for 36,000 children and cash transfers for 200,000 people.

Developing Countries: Debts

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what information his Department holds on the amount of (a) new and (b) rescheduled debt to the UK held by developing countries.

Alan Duncan: DFID holds information on loans previously provided by DFID (and its predecessor Departments) and a portfolio of loans to governments once held by CDC but managed and administered by DFID since 2008. The total outstanding value of these loans (principal amount only) is £91,871,000, this figure can be found on page 170 of the DFID 2011-12 annual report and accounts and is the total of all outstanding loans as at 31 March 2012.
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-us/How-we-measure-progress/Annual-report/?tw_p=twt
	Of this amount, the total outstanding value of rescheduled loans (principal only) is £34,272,864.
	DFID does not currently make any new loans directly to developing countries. Information on the amount of new and rescheduled bilateral export credit is held by UK Export Finance (Export Credit Guarantee Department).

Developing Countries: Family Planning

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  if he will use the upcoming London Summit on Family Planning to consider the link between child marriage and fertility and maternal health outcomes;
	(2)  if he will encourage Governments and donors making commitments at the upcoming London Summit on Family Planning to also commit to fund projects addressing early and forced marriage, sexual violence and social barriers to contraceptive access;
	(3)  if he will be encourage Governments and donors making commitments at the upcoming London Summit on Family Planning to also commit to implement legal and policy changes that will address early and forced marriage;
	(4)  if he will encourage Governments and donors making commitments at the upcoming London Summit on Family Planning to also commit to implement legal and policy changes that will address social barriers to women and girls accessing family planning and other health services in developing countries.

Alan Duncan: The London Summit on Family Planning aims to support the right of women and girls to decide, freely and for themselves, whether, when, and how many children they have. At its core is the objective of saving lives and empowering girls and women to be able to make decisions about their own future. Over the last year, UK investment has given 1 million additional women in developing countries access to modern methods of contraception. Much more needs to be done, which is why we are co-hosting the summit with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
	The summit aims to galvanise unprecedented political and financial commitment to meet the unmet need of an additional 120 million women who want to avoid or delay pregnancy. Significant political, policy and financial commitments by donors and developing countries are anticipated.
	Addressing wider social and cultural barriers to women's and girls' empowerment will be essential to achieving the summit's objectives. Building the support of men, families, and communities, and ensuring laws and policies are in place to support women's and girls' empowerment and their sexual and reproductive health and rights, is critical.
	The summit recognises the link between violence against women and girls, coerced sex and unintended pregnancies. There are an estimated 14 million births to adolescents every year, before they are physically, emotionally or economically prepared. Many of these girls are married. Girls who can delay marriage and their first pregnancy are at less risk of death or disability from complications arising from pregnancy, childbirth and unsafe abortion, as these are a leading cause of death among young women aged 15 to 19. They are also more likely to stay in school and secure productive employment.
	There will be a focus on these issues throughout the different sessions of the summit itself on 11 July. Commitments sought by the summit include measures to address these wider issues and it is anticipated that participants will make specific commitments to address social and cultural barriers.

Developing Countries: Malaria

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to ensure that its targets on control of malaria are met.

Stephen O'Brien: Controlling malaria is one of the main priorities of the UK Government. In March 2011 we announced that we will help halve malaria deaths in at least 10 of the worst affected countries by 2015.
	The UK's Framework for Results for malaria in the developing world sets out how we will work with other international and UK organisations in partner countries to achieve more results and greater value for money to ensure that our malaria targets are met. We will focus on achieving results by blending experience of what works with fresh thinking and a new focus innovation. The results contained in the Framework are specific and quantifiable, against which we, and others, will monitor our performance and hold ourselves to account. The Framework for Results will be subject to a mid-term review in 2013 and an independent evaluation in 2015.

Overseas Aid

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will bring forward proposals for funding to be made available to overseas missions which would be used for local anti-human trafficking projects.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) is already funding a range of anti-trafficking and anti-slavery projects in developing countries. These include projects in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Malawi. DFID's regional anti-trafficking project in South Asia aims to reduce trafficking of 60,000 women and girls in the garment and domestic work sectors over four years.
	DFID officials are currently discussing with Home Office officials whether there is scope for any additional support to anti-trafficking initiatives in priority countries, within the programme allocations agreed in the Bilateral Aid Review in 2011.